The Johnstown woman accused of lying about stomach cancer to raise money was supposed to face a judge Friday morning — but waived her preliminary hearing.
“Some of these people I don’t even recognize. It’s just amazing to see that people care about me that much, that they paid the money to come here and be here.”
That’s what Brandi Hammers told us back in November at her Sunday Funday bash held at a local brewery.
She told the community that the fundraiser was to raise money for her battle with stomach cancer.
It was later revealed that she raised thousands of dollars.
“That’s why we put ‘don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart on the t-shirts,'”
Authorities say they got a tip weeks after the fundraiser that the diagnosis was not legitimate, which investigations proved to be true.
Hammers has since been charged with two felonies: dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and theft by deception.
After her preliminary hearing scheduled for Friday morning was waived, all charges are now being bound to the Court of Common Pleas.
Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer says she tricked the community out of the goodness of their hearts.
“Unfortunately, scams and lies prey on people’s emotions. We have a great community that cares deeply about a lot of causes.”
