New York Drug Addict Pleads Guilty to All Charges Regarding Cancer Scam for Heroin Money

A suburban woman whose cancer scam helped her glean money for heroin has pleaded guilty to all 24 charges filed against her.

Brittany Ozarowski, 22, from Medford, NY, pleaded guilty on Monday, December 9th, to all of the charges in the indictment filed against her in April of this year. Charges included first-degree scheme to defraud, third-degree grand larceny, and first-degree offering a false statement for filing, according to prosecutors.

Ozarowski created a scheme to say that she had cancer in order to raise money. She was accused of taking more than $10,000 in donations, by persuading sympathetic friends and strangers to hold fundraisers, placing donation jars inside at least 25 businesses, and setting up a donation page through Facebook. Prosecutors said that she would stand outside supermarkets with a donation jar to solicit generosity.

According to the indictment, all of the money went to buy heroin.

However, some people started noticing that, over the two-year cancer scam, her stories about her cancer changed – first, she had brain cancer, then bone cancer, then stomach or ovarian cancer. Investigators looked into her case, and realized it was a scam. She was arrested on April 1st outside of a grocery store, holding a jar that said “Please help me with my medical bills for bone and brain cancer.”

Victims in her cancer scam were not all strangers with small donations, but also close family. Ozarowski’s grandmother sold her house in Seldon to donate $100,000 to her granddaughter’s fraudulent cancer treatment, and her father says that he depleted his retirement account to help support her.

Although Ozarowski pleaded guilty to all of the fraud charges related to the cancer scam, and prosecutors requested seven years in jail, her attorney negotiated a deal in which the defendant would spend at least two years in drug treatment, rather than several in jail. The first year would be in-patient drug treatment, the second out-patient with community service, and her third year of probation, according to the judge, would be dedicated to repaying the $10,000 she raised with her cancer scam.

The judge added that, if she fails at the drug treatment program, she will be sentenced to 3 years in jail for the felony charges, and 1 year for the misdemeanor charges.

The Strom Law Firm Can Help Defend Against Scam Charges

Our federal criminal defense lawyers handle cases involving:

• Bond issuances and investment schemes
• Falsifying loan applications
• Check fraud schemes
• Bribes or kickbacks
• False advertising or misrepresentation in sales transactions

Our firm provides extensive experience representing clients in major criminal cases and investigations involving wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and RICO violations. While we strive to resolve matters discreetly through aggressive negotiation, our fraud attorneys will not hesitate to take your case to trial. If you or a loved one have been accused of fraud from fundraising efforts or business funds, we can help. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so contact us today. 803.252.4800