Cancer Fraudster Belle Gibson Cops Deserved Fraud Charge, Faces $1M Fine

Only a month after Victoria Police ruled out investigating cancer fraudster Belle Gibson‘s failure to hand over thousands of dollars raised in the name of charity, it’s been confirmed she *will* face court.

The disgraced The Whole Pantry founder will be charged with deceptive conduct off the back of an extensive 14-month investigation by Consumer Affairs Victoria

Consumer Affairs Victoria Director Simon Cohen confirmed the consumer watchdog will be moving forward with legal action against Inkerman Road Nominees (Gibson’s company, now in liquidation) that relate to entirely made up claims she was suffering from terminal brain cancer and – not only that – was being miraculously healed by rejecting conventional cancer treatments in favour of natural remedies, which she parlayed into a wellness empire with thousands of loyal followers (many of whom donated to ‘charity’ in her name). 
“This is an important step in ensuring that consumers receive only verified information and are not deceived, particularly where serious matters of health and medical treatment are concerned,” Cohen said in a statement.
Gibson – who’s all but been in hiding since the shit hit the fan last year – faces more than $1 million in penalties for profiting off her BS claims and defrauding genuine charities out of much-needed funds.

Penguin Australia, who published her The Whole Pantry companion book, also felt the glare of the investigation; it’s agreed to make a $30,000 donation to the Victorian Consumer Law Fund after acknowledging almost nothing was done to verify Gibson’s stories or claims before the book hit shelves.
It’s also committed to beefing up its compliance, education and training program to make sure all claims about medical conditions by prospective Penguin authors are substantiated, and that sweeping statements about natural remedies of any kind come with a written warning.
The Whole Pantry app was an instant hit when it launched in August 2013, with 200K downloads in its first month (it’s estimated the business would have earned more than $1 million from downloads alone, at $3.79 a pop).
So loud was the buzz that tech giant Apple selected it as one of very few apps to be included on the demo of the Apple Watch, flying Gibson to Silicon Valley for the product launch.

Gibson maintains the secondary and primary cancers in her “blood, spleen, brain, uterus, and liver” were the result of a “misdiagnosis” by a German medical team she could never prove existed.

We, for one, are bloody happy she’ll at least be held somewhat accountable for the damage she inflicted on potentially thousands of vulnerable cancer sufferers and survivors.
Seeya in court, Belle.
Photo: Instagram.

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