Beauty queen sentenced in fake cancer scam

JOHNSTOWN-ALTOONA, PA -- When a former Miss Pennsylvania told her friends and family she had leukemia in March 2013, they did everything they could to help.

They hosted fundraisers in her honor, drove her to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for treatment, and even had her carried across the finish line of a race.

VIDEO: Pennsylvania beauty queen arrested for fake cancer fraud

Police say a beauty queen was lying about battling cancer so she could scam family, friends and strangers out of tens of thousands of dollars.

Friends and family of Brandi Lee Weaver-Gates, 24, started to get suspicious when she insisted on attending her chemotherapy treatments alone and her hair grew back after she shaved her head.

A police investigation found no evidence that Weaver-Gates had ever been under a doctor's care for cancer. An anonymous letter to police tipped them off to the scheme.

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The former beauty queen was sentenced to 2-4 years in state prison with five years of probation to be served consecutively.

During her sentencing on Tuesday, Weaver-Gates was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $30,000.

WTAJ reports that Weaver-Gates also lost her Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International title.

SEE ALSO: Texas mom accused of faking daughter's cancer to solicit money

A Texas mom is accused of faking her daughter's cancer, Mayra Moreno reports.

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