Bride-to-be pretended she was dying to trick charity into paying for her wedding
Mother of two faces jail after forging hospital consultant’s signature
A bride-to-be pretended she was dying of cancer to con a charity into paying for her dream wedding.
Carla Louise Evans, 29, is facing jail for fraud after she forged a hospital consultant’s signature to make out she had bladder cancer and liver failure.
The mother of two asked for help from a charity that pays for weddings for people who are terminally ill, a court heard.
She persuaded Wish for a Wedding to offer to pay more than £15,000 for her big day, leaving her to put just £500 towards it, magistrates in Newport, south Wales, were told.
Andrew Gwynne, prosecuting, said: “Evans applied to the charity claiming she had cancer and liver failure.
“In fact she had neither of these conditions.
“She forged the signature of Royal Gwent consultant urologist Dr Adam Carter on the charity’s application form.”
The charity called in police after discovering from the hospital in Newport that Dr Carter had no record of her as a patient.
Evans, from Caerphilly, south Wales, admitted fraud by false representation and is due to be sentenced in a crown court next month.
Magistrates said her offence was too serious for them to deal with, warning her that “all sentencing options are open”.
Evans, who has no previous convictions and was released on bail, could be jailed for up to three years.
The Manchester-based charity says it “aims to provide one last wish of a wedding for couples dealing with a terminal illness, through a combination of donations and subsidised wedding services”.