Burlington woman charged with faking fatal disease

A Burlington woman facing fraud charges for faking a fatal neurological disease has a bail hearing this morning.

Halton Police say Cynthia Lynn Smith, age 39, who goes by the name Cindy, claimed to be suffering from Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy, a rare disease that weakens limbs and robs victims of sight and speech, and that she acted out many of its symptoms.

Smith’s family and friends helped her start a charity to raise money for experimental medicines in the United States to deal with the illness.

An online “GoFundMe” page was started in Smith’s name last November and in combination with other local donations, appeared to have raised over $126,000.  It was taken down yesterday.

Police began investigating Smith in late March after a local reporter raised concerns about the validity of her illness.

Investigators then determined that Smith had never been diagnosed or treated for the illness she claimed to be suffering from.

Police believe she was acting alone and also misled her family and friends who supported her.

Charges for faking illness have been laid previously in Burlington.  24-year-old Ashley Kirilow pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in 2010 after raising thousands of dollars by claiming she had terminal cancer.