NEWS
Mother faked her child’s terminal cancer diagnosis to con £4,000 out of charity set up in memory of real three-year-old victim of the disease
Mother faked her child’s terminal cancer diagnosis to con £4,000 out of charity set up in memory of real three-year-old victim of the disease
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11:05 BST 24 Aug 2024, updated 11:23 BST 24 Aug 2024
By Ed Holt
A mother who faked her child’s terminal cancer diagnosis conned a cancer charity out of £4,000.
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Charlotte Blackwell, 40,contacted the mother of Morgan Ridler – who died of a a rare liver cancer just days before his fourth birthday – to ask for financial help from her charity just months after Morgan died.
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Natalie Ridler and the Morgan’s Army Charitable Foundation have raised thousands to help families such as hers who are affected by childhood cancer.
One such family Ms Ridler thought she was helping was Blackwell’s who contacted the 33-year-old.
Blackwell said her child – who had previously been ill – was poorly again, receiving palliative care and set up a GoFundMe for help. she then received £4,000 from the charity before Ms Ridler discovered Blackwell was lying.
Natalie Ridler pictured with her son Morgan. Charlotte Blackwell, 40, conned Ms Ridler’s charity out of £4,000 after she faked her own child’s cancer diagnosis
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Natalie Ridler pictured with her son Morgan. Charlotte Blackwell, 40, conned Ms Ridler’s charity out of £4,000 after she faked her own child’s cancer diagnosis
Morgan died of cancer on June 28 last year, days before his fourth birthday. It was just months after his death that Blackwell got in touch with Morgan’s mother to ask for financial help
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Morgan died of cancer on June 28 last year, days before his fourth birthday. It was just months after his death that Blackwell got in touch with Morgan’s mother to ask for financial help
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Blackwell, of Bridgend, South Wales, admitted fraud and was handed a suspended sentence.
Ms Ridler said: ‘A number of months ago I was approached by an individual who was very upset because their child had relapsed. The family is known to us as a cancer family, and that’s how they passed our initial checks.
‘They were very upset about the prospect of going through things again but also about the odds that had apparently been given to them.
Natalie said Blackwell told her they were raising money for treatment in Germany.
She said: ‘I supported this individual emotionally for a number of weeks, because they said the child was essentially being put on palliative care and, unless they could get this treatment, there were no other options for them.’
Morgan’s Army donated to the fundraising page but Ms Ridler learned Blackwell had also been directly messaging her charity supporters asking them for money too
She said: ‘This was not something I would have ever told anyone to do. It’s not how I operate or run the charity.’
The mother became concerned when she learned Blackwell had asked other organisations for money but resisted help from them and when she investigated further, learned of the con.
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His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him,” the statement continued.
John’s impact on the world will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.”
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(Armani)
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He was 92 years old.
Virgil Sr. began his nine-year career in 1956 with the Giants (then of New York), who remembered him on Sunday with a tribute on X.
He later spent time with the Tigers, Athletics, Orioles and Pirates before wrapping up his career back with the Giants in separate stints in 1966 and 1969.
The MLB wrote on its official X account that it was ‘deeply saddened’ to learn of his passing.
Our thoughts are with his son, two-time All-Star catcher Ozzie Virgil Jr., and the rest of the Virgil family,’ they wrote.
Virgil’s presence in the MLB opened the door for many other Dominican players to follow suit.
Today, Dominican players make up 9.83% of all MLB rosters according to World Population Review – the highest figure of any country other than the USA.
Virgil served as a utility player in the big leagues and had a career batting average of .231 with 14 home runs.
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