A HEARTLESS mum falsely claimed her child had cancer so she could steal from a charity set up in memory of a tragic three-year-old boy.
Charlotte Blackwell claimed the youngster was receiving palliative care and set up a GoFundMe for help.
Caring Natalie Ridler, 33, offered to help after her own son Morgan died of a rare liver cancer just days before his fourth birthday.
Blackwell stole £4,000 from the Morgan’s Army Charitable Foundation, which has raised thousands to help other families.
She avoided jail after admitting fraud and was instead handed a ten month sentenced suspended for 21 months.
In a victim impact statement, Natalie said Blackwell had “preyed on us at one of our most vulnerable periods, emotionally manipulated us and took advantage of the situation”.
She added: “They had behaved abhorrently over a number of weeks, knowing they were lying and knowing they were taking advantage of me.
“They had essentially groomed me for two weeks while my heart was breaking for them.”
Cardiff Crown Court was told Blackwell’s child had previously been ill when she made the false claim they had relapsed.
The mum contacted Natalie about receiving help from the charity and said the family were raising money for treatment in Germany.
As the child had previously received cancer treatment, they passed the charity’s initial checks.
Morgan’s Army donated to the fundraising page but Natalie learned Blackwell had also been directly messaging her own supporters asking for money.
The mum investigated further and discovered Blackwell had callously lied about her child having cancer.
Natalie said: “It transpired that some years ago, a child of the individual had suffered with cancer and was treated at Noah’s Ark which was why they slipped through our initial checks.
“However, they had been in remission for some time with no active treatment, no terminal prognosis, and were in layman’s terms ‘all clear’.
“Thankfully all funds released to the individual were frozen and recovered at the point of the fraudulent activity having come to light, causing no financial loss to the charity.”
As well as a suspended sentence, Blackwell was made subject to a curfew and must complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activity.
She was also ordered to pay a £187 victim services surcharge and prosecution costs of £150.
Little Morgan died on June 28 last year after being diagnosed with a rare and complex form of cancer in October 2021 at the age of two.
His mum and dad shared his brave fight against the disease on the Morgan’s Army social media pages and raised tens of thousands for charity.
Speaking after the sentencing, Natalie said: “This particular individual was a parent of a child in remission and it astounds me that someone who has been through it could do it to another cancer family.
“I won’t let a tough world make us hard. Losing Morgan has given us more compassion and empathy than ever before and I won’t let the actions of one person make us forget what Morgan taught us.
“I’m proud to be an honest and loving person in a hard world… We have certainly learned lessons and adjusted our processes so this can’t happen again. Our charity will be stronger for it.”
