Police: Phoenix woman faked cancer to get implants

PHOENIX (AP) — A Phoenix woman has been charged with fraud and theft after authorities say she told people she had breast cancer and needed treatment so she could get money from them to buy breast implants.

Police reports filed in Maricopa County Superior Court say 27-year-old Jami Lynn Toler told her former boss she needed a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction and was uninsured. She also told the tale to her mother and grandparents.

Toler helped organize fundraisers and collected more than $8,000 beginning in September, according to the report. Medical records obtained by Mesa police show she didn't have cancer and paid a plastic surgeon with the cash.

Toler was arrested Wednesday and released on electronic monitoring Thursday after a brief initial court appearance.

A telephone message left for Toler by The Associated Press on Friday wasn't immediately returned.

"They were just well-intentioned people standing by in support of an individual who needed it," Carmen Klemis, who runs the hospice where Toler used to work, told KTVK-TV.

Toler's story started to unravel when she turned down an offer from a doctor to treat her breast cancer for free and Klemis turned her in, Mesa police Sgt. Anthony Landato said.