“She played on her emotions and faked cancer as an attempt to take the heat off of her,” one of her victims said in court
A Nevada mother has been sentenced to time in jail after scamming close friends out of thousands while faking cancer.
Haleigh Morgan Knight of Henderson was sentenced to 30 days in the Clark County Detention Center and two years of probation after pleading guilty in March, KLAS and KSNV reported on June 24.
An attorney for Knight could not immediately be reached for comment.
At her sentencing, Knight apologized for defrauding those closest to her out of $19,787.12.
“Over the last year, I’ve continued working, supporting my family, getting the help I need to better understand the choices I made to make sure I never find myself in this position again,” she said in a statement, per KSNV.
“I respectfully ask the court to give me the opportunity to continue moving forward, make restitution, support my family, and prove through my actions that I can learn from this and be a better person,” Knight added.
Knight was known as a social media content creator who allegedly had business ties to luxury hotels by working as a travel adviser, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported in April, citing a Henderson Police Department affidavit.
Some of her victims, members of the Fink family, also addressed the courtroom, sharing how they were misled by their friend and former classmate.
“We were excited to build something meaningful together as a family,” Cydney Fink said of how she and another relative planned to work with Knight as travel creators.
The HPD’s April affidavit alleged, “Cydney stated that each time the dates for a trip would be close, an excuse was made as to why the trip fell through and got canceled.”
Because Knight told the Finks she had pancreatic cancer at the time, the family did not push back when the vacation plans that they invested in did not come to fruition.
“She played on her emotions and faked cancer as an attempt to take the heat off of her. We held back and didn’t press her for the deposit returns,” one victim said, per KSNV. “Instead, meals were taken to her, her children were babysat for her, donations were given, all in trying to help her with her cancer.”
The individual accused Knight of using their family’s dreams against them “to gain our trust and take our money.”
“She made everything look legitimate. She created fake contracts, impersonated company representatives, and used multiple phone numbers to make the communication seem authentic. Because of that deception, we paid thousands of dollars and what we were told were refundable trip deposits,” the victim continued, adding that they also spent significant amounts on trip preparation such as luggage and passport fees.
One of the victims said her partner stepped down from his full-time position so that they could work and travel as a family.
“Those were real sacrifices made in good faith,” she said.
Judge Jessica Peterson told Knight, “You changed people’s lives for your own selfishness and your own greed.”
In addition to serving 30 days in jail followed by probation, Knight will also have to pay restitution to her victims. She has one week to turn herself in to serve the jail sentence, KSNV reported.
