If anyone is going to get a lumps of coal in his or her stocking this year, it’s Martha Nicholas. The Virginian woman was arrested Wednesday for bilking kind-hearted people out of money by falsely claiming she had cancer. Nicholas, 42, duped even her husband and children along the way, claimed she was a four-time cancer patient and participated in multiple cancer fundraisers

In fact, an investigation by the Hanover County Sheriff’s department revealed “no evidence of any cancer treatment at any medical facility that had been publicly identified by Martha Nicholas during her many public appearances and testimonials.”

Despite this, her attorney Sam Simpson said it wasn’t a scam and that his client has a mental disorder: “There is an illness. It’s a mental illness, and I can’t say more about this.”

Nicholas is out on bond and will be arraigned December 16.

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