Woman Who Lied About Having Terminal Cancer To Scam Funds Is Sentenced

MURRIETA (CBSLA.com) — Cristina Lagman, a woman who lied about having terminal cancer in an effort to scam money from people, was sentenced in court Friday.

KCAL9's Tom Wait was in the Murrieta courtroom when some of Lagman's victims lashed out.

Lagman, 39, was found guilty of theft by false pretenses.

Wait said Lagman avoided eye contact with her victims as she headed into the courtroom.

Giovani Stefani, who lost a 2-year-old child to cancer 21 years ago, said because of people like Lagman, she would find it hard to trust people again.

Lagman even shaved her head to convince donors and gift-givers that she was undergoing chemotherapy.

She would use social media to talk about the pain she was experiencing and describe her "treatments" in detail.

Lagman even started something called the Pink Bag campaign to encourage donations at events and restaurants and clubs.

Lagman is set for release for time served and will spend the next five years on probation. She was also ordered to pay back all the money and pay more than $10,000 in restitution to the people she scammed.