Mom Of Three Arrested For Lying About Having Cancer To Stop Husband Leaving Her

A family member being seriously ill can be one of the most difficult things any of us have to face. Family, for many of us, is everything.

When Amy Ellisa Hammer’s husband told her he would be leaving her she, naturally, was deeply upset. Hammer spoke about the event;

“When he said he was going to leave me, it was an impulsive thing. We’ve been together so long, I was scared, terrified. That’s my three kids, my husband that I’ve known for so long.”

I think we can all sympathize for Hammer in this situation, she’d raised her kids with this guy and now he was leaving. We can all imagine the kind of despair that could make a person feel.

However, what is slightly more difficult to accept about Hammer’s reaction was the lie that followed. The Mom of three from Randolph County, North Carolina, then lied to her husband about having cancer in order to make him stay, she describes it as;

“An impulsive thing and it snowballed.”

The lie only grew with time. The false cancer claim didn’t just upset (and make stay) Hammer’s husband, it also garnered sympathy from her local community, as such, Hammer began to accept donations for the cancer treatment (that she didn’t need and didn’t have).

Unfortunately for Hammer the whole scheme came tumbling down when police conducted an investigation into her “fundraising”.

Fox 8 spoke with Hammer, who revealed she did not set out to make money from her faked disease, that she only lied with the intention of keeping her family intact. Hammer’s actions somewhat contradict this claim…

Hammer set up a Facebook Group called “Amy’s Promise” to allow members of her community to donate to her treatment for a non-existent illness.

(Image Credit, Facebook, Randolph County Sheriff’s Office)

Hammer also began to sell T-shirts to “fundraise”. A local Church, Trinity Wesleyan Church of Seagrove, kindly got involved with the fundraising efforts and planned to host a fundraising event on March 23, the money raised would be used to pay for Hammer’s “medical bills”. Fortunately, Hammer’s scheme was discovered and the event has been canceled, saving the hard-earned money of countless generous souls who planned to attend.

(Image Credit: CafeMom)

Police received a report that Hammer had been obtaining property under false pretenses on March 8. From there the scheme quickly unraveled and the lies Hammer had told were exposed to a shocked and devastated community.

On April 11, Hammer was arrested on one count of felony attempting to obtain property by false pretense and three counts of felony obtaining property by false pretense. Which is a freakin’ mouthful, right?!

“We’re just surprised by it, shocked by it. It’s bad for this community that someone would do that. You can’t trust people, and it makes us not want to donate because of people like that,” 

Said Caroline Stanley, a local massage therapist whose spa was one of several local stores planning to donate at the upcoming fundraiser.

(Image Credit: Cafe Mom)

Hammer has expressed extreme guilt and deep remorse for what she has done and is reported as saying;

“I have to deal with what I’ve done and that I hate myself. But I am sorry, I have to live with this. What I have done has hurt a lot of people, a lot.”

At least she seems to acknowledge what she’s done is wrong… Still, if her only intention was to keep her husband around why did she take so much money from unsuspecting people in her own community?! Even if she hadn’t had all the money, it’s horribly manipulative to treat a spouse (or anyone!) this way!

Hammer went on to say:

“What I’ve done to my children is awful, and I have to live with that. I am trying to shelter my kids right now.”

I can understand wanting to keep the kids out of harms way! I really do hope Hammer regrets this, and doesn’t just regret getting caught…

Police continue to try and recover the money donated by Hammer’s victims and Hammer herself expressed a desire to return all the money she fraudulently raised.

Aside from monetary loss many locals have expressed a loss of trust, something very difficult to regain.

So many of us are affected by cancer in our lifetime. It is unspeakably disrespectful and shallow to use this terrible illness to manipulate a partner or to “cash in” on the local community. I really do hope that this event doesn’t discourage people to stop donating to cancer fundraisers!

Money is so desperately needed to beat this awful disease! Please continue to donate, there are far more decent, honest people than those who lie for their own gain!

What do you think of this shocking story? Would you like to share a hopeful message? Please let me know in the comments and remember to support (authentic!) charities whenever you can! AAx

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