Community Munchausen's by Internet (Malingerers, Munchies, Spoonies, etc) - Feigning Illnesses for Attention

[Ariel]

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-lying-disease/Content?oid=15337239

I found the story about Valerie.

 

[Petronella]

A larger, more-encompassing thread on this kind of thing would be fabulous.

 

[Durable Mike Malloy]

That wasn't free jinger was it?

@For The Internet mentioned their experience in the Peter Coffin thread, but didn't exactly say. Personally, I was only vaguely aware of Razing Ruth's involvement at FJ while the hoax was in progress - I'd mostly drifted away after the rapture. But I recall "Atheist in a Minivan" from the early days of science blogging, and "scarlett75" from a now-defunct arts and crafts forum with a user base that skewed toward people with back-to-the-land parents. Even though I had them each pegged for a fraud, I was really surprised to learn not only that they were both the same woman, but also how many other personae she had inhabited.

A larger, more-encompassing thread on this kind of thing would be fabulous.

I think that's a splendid idea. Maybe the simplest thing to do would be to edit the title of this thread to make it more encompassing, since the wider discussion seems to have some momentum here already. Or perhaps an obliging mod will snip the non-Beccah conversation into a new thread?

Because these people tend to go silent between scams, bunging them in together seems like a good way to keep a thread lively.

 

[Ariel]

@Saney can you snip this into a general munchausen by Internet thread please?

 

[sparklemilhouse]

Unless I missed something, that lady in the original post didn't get sent to trial for scamming people? Just a couple of days ago I saw on the news where a lady got arrested for scamming her coworkers of $3,000 because she claimed her daughter had cancer.

 

[Artard]

Unless I missed something, that lady in the original post didn't get sent to trial for scamming people? Just a couple of days ago I saw on the news where a lady got arrested for scamming her coworkers of $3,000 because she claimed her daughter had cancer.

The one I referenced -- the Saga of Jesse Jubilee James -- is actually making law of a sort after the victim filed suit. It was thrown out of court, reinstated on appeal in certain respects, etc. Both Beccah and Janna St. James, the perp of the Jesse Jubilee James hoax lived in generally the same area (suburban Chicago) so you might be thinking about her.

Remarkably, St. James' defense in court is that she couldn't be charged for fraud because the entire hoax was a "work of fiction". Seriously:

Hoping to find some answers, Bonhomme filed a lawsuit that was eventually moved to Kane County, where in December 2009 a judge dismissed her complaint. But last month, a divided Illinois appeals court reinstated the case, rejecting St. James' argument that she was creating fiction and therefore wasn't liable.

"The concepts of falsity and material fact do not apply in the context of fiction," her attorney had written, "because fiction does not purport to represent reality."

The court allowed Bonhomme's fraudulent misrepresentation claim, which typically applies only in a business situation, to move forward, in part due to St. James' "almost-two-year masquerade of false statements."

Bonhomme says she spent about $10,000 on gifts for James and his family and friends. But she doesn't think St. James was motivated only by money.

 

[For The Internet]

@For The Internet mentioned their experience in the Peter Coffin thread, but didn't exactly say. Personally, I was only vaguely aware of Razing Ruth's involvement at FJ while the hoax was in progress - I'd mostly drifted away after the rapture. But I recall "Atheist in a Minivan" from the early days of science blogging, and "scarlett75" from a now-defunct arts and crafts forum with a user base that skewed toward people with back-to-the-land parents. Even though I had them each pegged for a fraud, I was really surprised to learn not only that they were both the same woman, but also how many other personae she had inhabited.

Yeah, it was Free Jinger.

 

[Dalish]

I'm surprised this thread hasn't included a couple notable people yet, my personal favorite is Alicia Head. Her munchausen by Internet spilled over into real life-- she claimed to be a survivor of 9/11, but her fiance/husband died where she survived.

She was very active in the community and, of course, a dirty liar. She claimed to be one of 19 people who survived the second tower and preyed on the emotions of real victims in support groups.

There's a documentary about her entitled 'The Woman Who Wasn't There'. It's worth a watch.

 

[Meowthkip]

I'm surprised this thread hasn't included a couple notable people yet, my personal favorite is Alicia Head. Her munchausen by Internet spilled over into real life-- she claimed to be a survivor of 9/11, but her fiance/husband died where she survived.

She was very active in the community and, of course, a dirty liar. She claimed to be one of 19 people who survived the second tower and preyed on the emotions of real victims in support groups.

There's a documentary about her entitled 'The Woman Who Wasn't There'. It's worth a watch.

I saw the documentary on her, The Woman Who Wasn't There.

Excellent documentary. Worth a watch.

 

[AnOminous]

I guess with how common it is, it's maybe less interesting to ask "why people do it" than "why people believe?" I've always thought that the anonymity of the internet encouraged skepticism -- people feeling less ashamed of asking hard questions of truly extraordinary medical circumstances?

You'd think that, but perversely, the exact opposite is the case. Instead, if you expose a scammer, even with rock-solid evidence, their worshippers will viciously attack you. Even if the scammer eventually gets caught, or even goes to prison, they'll still have a coterie of idiots singing their praises. They may eventually realize they were scammed, but they'll still consider you a big giant meanie, at least most of them will.

 

[Petronella]

Then there's James Frey, an author who came under fire for his books A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard.
These books were presented as memoirs of his struggle to overcome drug addiction and alcoholism. Riveting reading, until everyone (including Oprah) found out most of it never happened.

 

[MW 002]

Anyone else here remember the charity for the cat that got set on fire but it turned out that never happened?

 

[Billy_Sama]

And I thought the Anabelle Lotus Juggalo funeral was worst attempt of getting free money with a dead baby.

 

[& Knuckles]

Anyone else here remember the charity for the cat that got set on fire but it turned out that never happened?

Ah yes, that's where the infamous "social experiment" excuse came from, innit?

 

[Ariel]

@For The Internet mentioned their experience in the Peter Coffin thread, but didn't exactly say. Personally, I was only vaguely aware of Razing Ruth's involvement at FJ while the hoax was in progress - I'd mostly drifted away after the rapture. But I recall "Atheist in a Minivan" from the early days of science blogging, and "scarlett75" from a now-defunct arts and crafts forum with a user base that skewed toward people with back-to-the-land parents. Even though I had them each pegged for a fraud, I was really surprised to learn not only that they were both the same woman, but also how many other personae she had inhabited.


I think that's a splendid idea. Maybe the simplest thing to do would be to edit the title of this thread to make it more encompassing, since the wider discussion seems to have some momentum here already. Or perhaps an obliging mod will snip the non-Beccah conversation into a new thread?

Because these people tend to go silent between scams, bunging them in together seems like a good way to keep a thread lively.

I think Razing Ruth was what triggered my interest in this phenomenon. I stopped posting often on FJ not long after Ken became the resident lolcow.

 

[Positron]

I wonder if anyone heard of this case, because I forgot the name of the perpetrator.

The story goes: teenage girl got raped, contracted HIV, and was dying of a huge stomach tumor which obstructed her digestive tract. She could only take liquid diet via a naso-gastric feeding tube, which she prominently showed on each of her frequent updates on Facebook. All along the red flags had been there: the expressed wish for gifts, photos of piles of medication with labels conveniently out of focus. And bizarrely, she claimed once that the hospital allowed her to bring a cat into the ICU she was staying. When people pointed out about the inconsistencies, they were immediately shouted down by her many followers.

One of her internet followers had left her country to Cambodia, where she did volunteer work. The sick girl threw a fit and summoned her follower back, because it was her birthday or something and you don't defy the wish of a dying young person don't you.

What was especially cringe-worthy was that, in some of her pictures, there was an older woman with a sad but loving expression on her face. It was generally believed that she was the girl's mother (although there was no confirmations). If her mother was involved in the scam it was even more despicable.

 

[Meowthkip]

Then there's Msscribe, who used Internet Munchausen's and an army of sock puppets not so much for money but to... get close to big name fans of Harry Potter.

Shit was nuts.

 

[Ariel]

Here is the Razing Ruth thread on Free Jinger. The mods left the thread and replies when we still believed intact, which I am not so sure happens all the time in these cases.

http://www.freejinger.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=88&t=17372

 

[Spaulding]

I wonder if anyone heard of this case, because I forgot the name of the perpetrator.

The story goes: teenage girl got raped, contracted HIV, and was dying of a huge stomach tumor which obstructed her digestive tract. She could only take liquid diet via a naso-gastric feeding tube, which she prominently showed on each of her frequent updates on Facebook. All along the red flags had been there: the expressed wish for gifts, photos of piles of medication with labels conveniently out of focus. And bizarrely, she claimed once that the hospital allowed her to bring a cat into the ICU she was staying. When people pointed out about the inconsistencies, they were immediately shouted down by her many followers.

One of her internet followers had left her country to Cambodia, where she did volunteer work. The sick girl threw a fit and summoned her follower back, because it was her birthday or something and you don't defy the wish of a dying young person don't you.

What was especially cringe-worthy was that, in some of her pictures, there was an older woman with a sad but loving expression on her face. It was generally believed that she was the girl's mother (although there was no confirmations). If her mother was involved in the scam it was even more despicable.

I know this one! That's Cara Goodman, and her old personal blog, preserved for evidence, is here: http://alaska-says-sun.tumblr.com/

It also contains her (former) best friends story about what happened. The friend also made another tumblr, http://answersaboutcara.tumblr.com/ where she stored relevant entries from her own deleted blog as well as answered more questions.

And finally, here's Cara's formal apology: http://iamcaragoodman.tumblr.com/

Ah, memories. I watched this shitstorm right when it happened, and it was indeed one of the most fascinating ones I've seen. So much good stuff is deleted now, including another important victim's blog and videos of Cara faking various illnesses, but there's still enough to entertain you for a rainy day, and to make it much more difficult for Cara to pull this shit off again.

 

[Durable Mike Malloy]

I think Razing Ruth was what triggered my interest in this phenomenon. I stopped posting often on FJ not long after Ken became the resident lolcow.

Were you around FJ when "Elle" was identified as an Aria_Star alt? She's another one who is perpetually e-begging for some alleged crisis or health problem, making up sick children, or taking advantage of people's concern for her actual child's safety and well-being.

Aria_Star on ED.
Aria_Star returns to FJ and attempts to run a scam as "LisaM".
Her current identity, fantasy author Alys B. Cohen.
As an aside, I'm interested to note that "Alys" has a sidebar link to "I Was a Foster Kid." That blog's author claims to be an adult who aged out of the foster system, and she uses her alleged tragic life to present herself as a voice of experience on matters pertaining to foster care. Even though "Looneytunes09" hasn't asked for money as far as I know, it's unpleasant to see real people with real problems squander their energy and emotion on such a preposterous prevaricator.