Haleigh Knight pleaded guilty to the scheme in March and will be sentenced in June
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NEED TO KNOW
- A Nevada woman has reportedly been accused of scamming several individuals by claiming to have cancer
- Haleigh Knight of Henderson pleaded guilty to theft in March and is set to be sentenced on June 24
- She allegedly swindled a former high school classmate and her classmate’s family out of around $20,000
A Nevada mom has pleaded guilty to scamming a friend and her friend's family by claiming to have cancer, according to reports.
Haleigh Knight of Henderson admitted to using GoFundMe as one of several ways to con friends and anonymous donors out of more than $20,000, KSNV, KLAS and the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Monday, April 13.
"GoFundMe has zero tolerance for bad actors who seek to take advantage of the generosity of others,” a GoFundMe spokesperson told PEOPLE on Tuesday, April 14.
“The organizer's account has been banned from using our platform for any future fundraisers. Being a safe and trusted place to give and receive help is our top priority, and we work with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing," the statement concluded.
PEOPLE reached out to an attorney for Knight, but did not immediately receive a response. Her attorney declined to comment to the Review-Journal.
Court records viewed by PEOPLE show Knight was charged with theft of more than $5,000 but less than $25,000.
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Knight's former high school classmate, Cydney Fink, claimed she was made to believe that Knight was a content creator and travel adviser for Four Seasons Hotels, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Fink was under the impression that her former friend who she'd reconnected with later in life had helped her to get a contract position with the Four Seasons as a “probationary employee” who would help Knight curate vacations, the news outlet said, citing a Henderson Police Department affidavit for warrant report.
“Cydney stated that each time the dates for a trip would be close, an excuse was made as to why the trip fell through and got canceled,” the affidavit added.
Fink and her family reportedly sent Knight digital payments totaling $20,192.16. This went on from June 2023 to January 2025 before Fink contacted the police, per KLAS.
Knight allegedly created a group chat with her victims so that they could communicate about the vacations, even going as far as joining the chat from another number pretending to be a trip coordinator named “Beatrice,” KLAS reported, citing the affidavit.
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As the trips Fink and her family paid for continued to get canceled, Fink asked Knight about taking legal action and Knight said she knew an attorney and would “be the middleman,” the warrant said, per the news station.
Knight pleaded guilty to felony theft in March and is set to be sentenced on June 24. According to the Review-Journal, she could face one to five years in prison. The plea agreement states that she agreed to pay $19,787.12 in restitution, reports the Review-Journal. According to her guilty plea agreement, her charges could be lowered from a felony to a misdemeanor.
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