UPDATE: Former NKU student pleads guilty in cancer scam

CINCINNATI, OH (WTVQ) – A former Northern Kentucky University student has pleaded guilty in a cancer scam case, according to a report by FOX 19 in Cincinnati.

20-year old Kelly Schmahl claimed she was diagnosed with stage 3 gastrointestinal cancer, when in reality, she wasn’t ill at all, according to prosecutors.

Her friends, classmates and community rallied around her, donating money and even putting together ‘Kelly’s Klassic’ to raise money to pay her supposed mounting medical bills, according to investigators.

The TV station reports that she fooled people out of thousands of dollars, according to an affidavit search warrant.  The warrant says she deceived her roommate and caregiver into believing she was sick.  The warrant says her caregiver and others provided Schmahl with at least $7,500 to help with her illness, according to the report.

Schmahl pleaded guilty to theft by deception, according to FOX 19.