There are grifts involving John Cusack, and then there are grifts involving people faking deadly diseases. But Long Island prosecutors say this is no Arrested Development plotline: a 21-year-old woman has been arrested and accused of pretending to have ovarian, stomach, bone and brain cancer to trick her family and strangers into sending her money for “treatment”—which actually was a serious heroin addiction.
“This defendant perpetrated an absolutely despicable scam,” said Suffolk DA Thomas Spota. “There was no cancer, no chemotherapy, no radiation, and no medical bills. There was just heroin.” Where does this rank on the scale with faking leukemia for a free wedding?
Prosecutors say that over the last 13 months, Brittany Ozarowski, of Medford, bilked her family, friends and strangers out of thousands of dollars through her website, which bares the heading "Help Save My Life." She writes on the page:
In September of 2011 I was diagnosed with stage two ovarian cancer as well as stomach cancer. After multiple treatments of both radiation and chemotherapy I had beaten cancer as of December 2011.
I was cancer free until they had found a tumor on my left hip in February 2012. That is when I found out that I have bone cancer. The cancer has spread to my spine as well as my brain. So once again I was in need of radiation treatments as well as chemotherapy treatments.
Ozarowski also claimed she was in a terrible car accident, and she had a Facebook page sharing a lengthy story about her severe injuries, all of which prosecutors say was completely untrue. According to CBS, Ozarowski told former classmates at Newfield High School that her hair didn’t fall out due to special vitamins. Detectives said she forged letters and documents from doctors and hospitals to keep up the facade, and wouldn't accept rides to her treatments.
“The truth is she is a 21-year-old drug addict with four open narcotics cases and we have strong evidence she forged doctors’ notes to avoid court appearances,” Spota said.
Among her alleged victims was Walter Warren, who lost his 19-year-old son, Kenny, to lymphoma in 2007. “Her story was so compelling,” he told the Post. “I got very emotional when I met her, because it brought back a lot of really tough memories. I wanted to help.” Warren took part in several fundraisers, including a dinner dance and a charity dog-grooming, to raise money for Ozarowski.
Her family was allegedly duped as well: Ozarowski's father Thomas McDermott cleaned out his retirement savings to donate $25,000. Ozarowski’s grandmother sold her Selden home several months ago and gave her $100,000 to pay for phantom treatments at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital.
