BELLEFONTE — A former beauty pageant queen was sentenced to two to four years in state prison followed by five years of probation after a judge accepted a guilty plea to theft charges in a case where she admitted to deceiving the community into donated funds through a fake cancer scheme.
Brandi L. Weaver-Gates, 24, of State College, was sentenced before Judge Thomas K. Kistler in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas on July 26. Her charges included felony theft by deception and receiving stolen property.
“This was the ultimate betrayal of our giving community and those people who actually battle cancer and their loved ones,” said Centre County District Attorney Stacey Parks Miller. “She actually stole that time and money from giving people who were actually suffering from cancer, some of who lived near her and have since passed.
“I only hope this singular incident by a selfish person will not dampen Centre countians endless capacity for helping those in need.”
According to state police at Rockview, the investigation into Weaver-Gates began in late 2015 after suspicion arose concerning the cancer fundraising she was actively pursuing. She told friends and family she was receiving treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia at a number of different hospitals, including Geisinger, John Hopkins, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Weinberg Cancer Center.
Police said Weaver-Gates continued her charade over the course of two years, going as far as shaving her head and having friends and family members drive her to receive treatments. According to authorities, when taken to these “treatment appointments,” Weaver-Gates would wandered around the halls of the hospitals, then pretend she underwent treatments. Police said she used a wheelchair at times and had people carry her over the finish line of a race as she pretended to be fatigued from the cancer. She posted the moment on social media web sites.
Residents raised money through door-to-door campaigns and held fundraisers to benefit her suspected affliction.
According to Park-Miller, the official investigation began in November 2015 after several people close to Weaver-Gates began to grow suspicious of her cancer after she demanded to take treatments alone and maintain a bank account in her name, where all donated funds were deposited. When asked about the treatments, Parks-Miller said she didn’t know the name of her physicians. She said people also noticed Gates-Weaver’s hair would grow back after shaving her head.
Authorities contacted the hospitals where Weaver-Gates claimed to be getting treatment; however, there was no record of her treatments or being a patient at any of the facilities.
According to Parks-Miller, it is estimated Weaver-Gates stole more than $30,000 from friends, family and members of the community and defrauded more than 150 people.
