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Mom accused of faking baby's cancer to make money
An El Monte woman is pushing to get her money back after she says an Arizona mom faked a baby's cancer to trick the woman to organizing a fundraiser and make money over what ultimately was a fake cause.
An El Monte woman is pushing to get her money back after an Arizona mom faked a baby's cancer to make money off the woman and the donors who stepped in to help.
FOX 11 spoke with the California woman, who says she was scammed hundreds of dollars and spent months planning a fundraiser for the alleged fraud suspect and her baby – who the California woman was told was going to die soon.
"So many people came together that day with open hearts and open minds and we were manipulated," said Ashley Jimenez, the alleged fraud victim. "It's really heartbreaking."
All Ashley wanted to do was to help baby Natalia. And she went all out, as Ashley held a "Tacos for Cancer" event at the San Gabriel Valley Airport back on June 2022. She even landed sponsors and teamed up with several vendors, including her own business, Tacos La Toxica.
"Typically, this would cost around $20,000 to $50,000," Ashley explained. "This was free."
All the hard work stemming from a woman, who Ashley considered a friend at the time, reaching out to the El Monte woman to tell her that Baby Natalia was battling a "rare brain cancer." Ashley believed the woman, Monique Coria, and wanted to help due to the fact that her father had been battling cancer.
"At the time, I didn't think anything of," Ashley said.
Come to find out, Coria was arrested in Arizona for allegedly faking her baby's brain cancer to rip off donors, including on a GoFundMe page. Coria is now facing fraud charges.
When asked what message Ashley would give to her now-former friend, the El Monte woman provided this response:
"I hope that she never has to go through what the cancer community has to go through every single day. I want justice. I want everybody's hardworking money back," Ashley said.