Pennsylvania beauty queen was arrested of collecting charity funds by pretending to have cancer.
- She took part in fundraisers to pay for her treatment, report said.
- Most recent event was held in April and raised $14,000.
Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International 2015, Brandi Weaver-Gates, 23, was charged with one felony count of theft by deception and another of receiving stolen property.
According to Investigators, Beauty Queen Brandi Lee Weaver-Gates, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, told people she was battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia and fraudulently took funds from events that raised money to help her pay for medical bills.
“There are many people out there who have family, friends and neighbors who are affected with some sort of cancer and unfortunately you have people out there who take advantage of that,” Thomas Stock, a Pennsylvania state trooper said.
The investigation was launched after an anonymous tip. After some digging, he found many inconsistencies with Gates’ situation, including the fact that her hair never fell out and she didn’t know her doctors’ names, Stock said. No evidence that Weaver-Gates had ever been under a doctor’s care for cancer.
Pageant directors release statement on the pageant’s Facebook page:
“We at Butler’s Beauties are saddened to hear of the news of Miss Brandy Weaver-Gates. We were also led to believe that she was dealing with this horrible disease and stood by her as she struggled being a beauty queen and a cancer patient,” they wrote.
“We at Butler’s Beauties believe that with a crown and sash you can accomplish many great things as a role model, spokesmodel and community leader as a beauty pageant queen. When you deceive the public and take people’s money that is under the pretense of fraud, we will not tolerate those actions. Our hearts go out to those affected by cancer and to those who were taken advantage of by Miss Weaver-Gates,” the pageant directors added.
Now, she’s in jail on $150,000 bail. Beauty Queen Weaver-Gates’ title had been revoked and her sash and crown confiscated.IMAGE/facebook
