London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jul 26, 2026

Cancer faker who swindled more than £360,000 is ordered to pay back just £5

Cancer faker who swindled more than £360,000 is ordered to pay back just £5

A CANCER faker who conned wellwishers out of tens of thousands has been ordered to pay back just £5.

Nicole Elkabbas was sent to jail for two years and nine months last year after she was exposed for lying in an online fundraiser.

The mum-of-one tricked thousands into believing she had ovarian cancer

Meanwhile the con-artist spend well-wishers donations on her lavish lifestyle

Nicole was handed a jail sentence at Canterbury Crown Court


One fake appeal claiming she needed life-savingf treatment for ovarian cancer raised more than £52,000.

She splurged the cash on luxury foreign holidays and funding her gambling addiction.

Since the con artist's arrest, investigators calculated she raked in a staggering total of £360,000 through her criminal exploits.

But the shameless 44-year-old from Broadstairs, Kent, will only have to pay back a fiver in the next 28 days.

A court ruled the fraudster has no assets or any “realistic prospect” of paying back the whole sum at a confiscation hearing.

The mum-of-one tricked countless well-wishers into helping her afford life-saving ovarian cancer treatment that she never needed.

She made a Go Fund Me page that looked like it had been set up by her mum, who she cared for full-time.

The fake page was adorned with an old photo from a previous operation Nicole had had to remove her gall bladder months before.

As well as the frail hospital photo, the message on the page read that she was a "loving mum" who had been "recently diagnosed" but couldn't afford desperately needed medical care.

She listed a fake expert she claimed was treating her at a clinic in Barcelona while she was in fact enjoying the high life in Spain.

The "compulsive liar" funnelled the donations into her own accounts.

She used it to pay off mounting gambling debts and also splashed out on £3,000 Spurs box tickets and trips abroad.

At the time of her sentencing last year, Judge Mark Weekes said: "The deception was cunning and manipulative.

"You produced detail and at times a graphic account of the treatment you were receiving with a view to keeping those you had snared in your web of lies paying you money.

"You tugged at their heart strings. You made mention of your child to add to gild the lily still further and to attempt to wring more cash out of those you had deceived.

"All the while, you were gambling, enjoying shopping trips and luxuries in Italy and Spain at their expense."

He described Elkabbas' actions as "insulting to those who must genuinely and courageously face the battle against cancer".

One victim of Nicole's deception reported feeling "violated, used, betrayed, ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated, depressed and deflated".

Katie Taylor was duped into posting a link to heartless Nicole Elkabbas's GoFundMe page on her Facebook group community of more than 18,000 members.

She said she had "felt sick, repulsed, in shock, stunned and could not function properly" when police told her in 2018 that the fundraising campaign was fake.

Katie added: "I couldn’t believe this was true, I felt small and really, really stupid.

"I felt like Nicole must have been laughing in my face at how gullible I was, it was so humiliating.

"How could someone take advantage of me and our group members like this for so many months?"


A spokesperson for GoFundMe said: “All donations were refunded in 2019 when the misuse allegations were raised. Misuse counts for less than one 10th of 1% of all activity on GoFundMe and in the very rare case there is misuse, we refund donations."


She was charged with six counts of raud

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
Autopsy Finds No Violence in Death of Epstein-Linked Model Scout
Indian Education Minister Resigns After Cockroach Youth Protests
California Desert Data-Centre Plan Stalls as Water and Power Disputes Mount
Northern Ireland Border Security Tightened After Military-Grade Explosive Interception
British Hospitality Sector Targets Summer Visitors Through Regional Promotions
England River Access Debate Intensifies After New Data Shows Limited Public Access
Royal Navy Strengthens Maritime Vigilance Amid Rising Security Concerns
UK Education Department Expands Mental Health Support for Young People Entering Work
UK Tourism Industry Launches Summer Campaigns to Boost Domestic Travel
North England Transport Plans Advance to Support Industrial Growth
Financial Markets Watch New Government’s Economic Strategy as Investors Assess Fiscal Risks
Royal Navy Continues Monitoring Russian Naval Activity Near UK Waters
UK Care Workers May Receive Immigration Exemptions Under Proposed Visa Changes
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper Begins Emergency Talks to Address NHS Staffing Shortages
UK Banks Launch High-Interest Savings Offers to Attract Household Deposits
North Sea Oil Drilling Projects Face Delays After Offshore Equipment Accident
Cairngorms Wildfire Highlights Growing Pressure on UK Emergency Services
UK Government Borrowing Plans Put Pressure on Ten-Year Gilt Markets
Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier HMS Prince of Wales Returns After NATO Northern Flank Mission
Metropolitan Police Opens Criminal Investigation Into Reform UK Political Donations
Scottish Government Requests Military Support as Cairngorms Wildfire Forces Emergency Response
Andy Burnham Takes Office as UK Prime Minister and Unveils New Cabinet Team
War, Youth Revolt and the Global Struggle for Control
War, Power and the Rising Price of Political Decisions
High Street Sales Suffer Sharpest Summer Decline in Five Years
Wales Approves Higher Taxes on Second Homes and Long-Term Empty Properties
Environment Agency Imposes Record £150 Million Penalty on Water Companies
UK Competition Watchdog Blocks U.S. Takeover of Cambridge Chip Designer
Scotland Unveils Land Reform Bill to Expand Renewable Energy Projects
Northern Ireland Secures £500 Million Technology Investment for Belfast Cybersecurity Hub
NHS Rolls Out AI Triage System Across Major Hospitals in England
UK Strengthens North Sea Naval Cooperation With European Allies
UK Chancellor Commits £7 Billion to Accelerate Manchester-Leeds Rail Link
Bank of England Signals Interest Rate Cuts After Inflation Falls Below Target
Badenoch Rejects Grant Shapps' Bid to Return as Conservative Candidate
BAE Chief Warns Britain Has Underestimated the Risk of War
Burnham Rules Out New Scottish Independence Referendum in First Talks With Swinney
UK Government Strengthens Northern Economic Agenda Through Manchester Headquarters and Regional Partnerships
United Kingdom Opens New Furness Peninsula Coastal Route Under King Charles the Third England Coast Path
England Reduces Business Costs for Hospitality Sector Through New Relief Package
United Kingdom Allocates Seven Point Three Million Pounds for Zero-Emission Aviation Research
United Kingdom Begins Restoration Works on Portishead Railway Line After Six Decades Without Passenger Services
United States Tariff Measures Create New Trade Challenges for United Kingdom and European Union Businesses
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Meets Scottish and Welsh Leaders to Promote Regional Growth Cooperation
United Kingdom Government Announces Twenty Percent Business Rates Cut for Pubs, Clubs, and Music Venues
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Opens Manchester Government Headquarters to Shift Decision-Making Away From Westminster
United Kingdom Defence Ministry Says Armed Forces Ready After Iran Accuses London Over US Military Strikes
United Kingdom Inflation Falls to Two Point Six Percent as Prime Minister Andy Burnham Gains Economic Breathing Room
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
×