A couple from Adelaide is facing charges after allegedly deceiving their community by faking their son’s cancer in a ploy to raise $60,000. Michelle Bodzsar and her husband Ben Stephen Miller are accused of claiming that their six-year-old son had stage one eye cancer. They set up a crowd-funding page and made emotional pleas for donations to fund their son’s treatment.
Bodzsar, who works as a hairdresser, reportedly went to great lengths to perpetuate the hoax. She asked a colleague to help shave her son’s hair and eyebrows off and even went as far as bandaging his legs and placing him in a wheelchair. The couple managed to raise $60,000 in a short amount of time, with friends, family, and parents at their son’s private school donating generously to the cause.
However, the truth eventually came to light when police discovered that the boy was not receiving any cancer treatment. Bodzsar and Miller were arrested and appeared before Port Adelaide Magistrates Court, where they were charged with committing an act likely to cause harm and deception. The alleged offenses took place between November 18 and December 12 of this year.
The couple now faces a maximum of seven years in prison if found guilty. Bodzsar was remanded in custody until January, while Miller’s lawyer requested that he be considered for home detention at his parents’ address. Magistrate Alison Adair expressed willingness to consider Miller’s application, noting that he appeared to be less involved in the offending than Bodzsar.
Acting Assistant Commissioner John DeCandia condemned the couple’s actions, calling it a “devious and cruel scheme” that harmed their own child. The case serves as a stark reminder of the potential consequences of fraudulent fundraising campaigns and the importance of verifying the authenticity of donation requests.
