Another Cancer Hoaxer

Dallas, Texas is home to the latest case of Munchausen Syndrome. Hope Ybarra managed to raise $100,000 by convincing an entire community that she was dying of cancer. She even fooled her family. Apparently the ruse went on for years. To their credit, once her family found out she wasn't really sick they put an end to the entire thing and are offering to return everyone's money. [Yahoo! Video]

Health/Medicine Scams

Posted on Wed Apr 15, 2009



Comments

All credit to the family, good luck to Hope.
Posted by Canadarm  on  Wed Apr 15, 2009  at  09:46 PM
Odds are good that she might really develop cancer later in life too.

Wouldn't it be the funniest thing if she did, and no-one believed her, and she suffered a long, painful, disfiguring illness, capped by a wasting amd miserable death? 😊
Posted by D F Stuckey  on  Wed Apr 22, 2009  at  08:07 PM
umm.. no. I dont think it would be funny if she got cancer later on in life. Who would wish such a thing on anyone? Even someone stupid enough to fake it. Her family still loves her.. even though were pissed as hell.. that doesnt mean our love stops. Neither should your compassion for human life.......
Posted by RP  on  Fri Apr 24, 2009  at  10:40 AM
RP, *I* should show 'human compassion' for this lowlife? as we say on these boards - ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha . . . . breathe . . . . ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

About the only perquisite I have in my sociobiological state is being excused from the onerous parts of human existence, like having to be sympathetic for some WOETO* like this woman who faked a disease that I have personal knowledge of, and gained the sympathy of people who in all likelihood would with equal eagerness oppose on 'moral' grounds any and all research into an effective cure.

More to the point, I would willingly feed this dog-fellator into a woodchipper feet first a centimetre per minute, and laugh during the entire process. YMMV.

*WOETO - Waste Of Eight Transplantable Organs
Posted by D F Stuckey  on  Fri Apr 24, 2009  at  03:58 PM
Here in The Netherlands we had a politician who did the same thing. She managed to fool the whole nation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Singh_Varma#Affaire_Singh_Varma
Posted by Wim Rijksen  on  Mon Apr 27, 2009  at  03:07 AM
"More to the point, I would willingly feed this dog-fellator into a woodchipper feet first a centimetre per minute, and laugh during the entire process. YMMV."

Would you really? Are you sure?
Posted by Rich  on  Tue May 05, 2009  at  09:50 PM
"Would you really? Are you sure?"

Pretty convinced, Rich. Unlike humans, I do not believe in rewarding people who tell falsehoods for profit and punishing peopel who are honest no matter who discretely that punishment is delivered.

That is why I have no trouble with the fact taht 'Liar' and 'lawyer' are homonyms either - IME, they tend to mean the same as well. 😊
Posted by D F Stuckey  on  Wed May 06, 2009  at  02:42 PM
In an effort to reserve judgement until more facts were available, I have found the following information regarding this "hoax" from credible and reliable sources. Obviously, this information did not come from Hope Ybarra as it is apparent that she cannot be considered a credible or reliable source.

1. She never solicited funds on her own behalf. While she never turned away help financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually, or otherwise-she never directly solicited any of the contributions made to her. Generally, offers of assistance where made by persons who were touched by her amazing story, which was not real, and chose to help her in many ways beyond belief or conception.

2. She has been involved in fundraising efforts throughout most of her lifetime. She has worked with Catholic Charities, Cancer organizations, Childhood Illness organizations, Deaf organizations, etc. and has done much in the way of fundraising and donating to these causes.

DF- I do hope that you have been able to benefit from some of the funds raised for research and assistance for victims of cancer and that you have been blessed by the good she has done during her lifetime.

While it is inconcievable to me that someone would claim to have any disease they do not have, most especially cancer, or that they would claim to be dying when they are not-I do recognize that no one of us is ALL good nor are we ALL bad. In trying to understand how someone could possibly do this, the only thing I can come up with is that I will never understand a person who is acting irrationally as I am trying to understand their thoughts and actions through my rational mind.

This certainly does not forgive, accept, or excuse what has occured in this case. What this has caused me to wonder though is if you are a rational thinker yourself. To pass judgement when you do not know all of the facts, to slander someone you do not know and to resort to name-calling surely doesn't appear very rational to me!
Posted by one who knows  on  Thu May 07, 2009  at  06:02 PM
What a torrent of words, One Who Knows; And yet, as a rational person, you must realise that none of it proves anything. You can write anything and claim it comes from 'a reliable source' but it could well be false - As I am wont to say, anyone can crap on a cracker and *say* it's peanut butter, but the proof is in the eating.

As for benifitting from anything this comtemptible lump of misused protein has done, it would be highly unlikely - I have yet to develop cancer, and if I did, my country has banned many of the treatments other countries have developed, particularaly the US, because of 'rational' reasons that have stemmed from the caring and forward thinking mindset of people such as yourself. After all, I'm sure you would agree that the ideas of alternative medicine and 'natural therapies', not using animal models for medical testing and such that were promoted by Adolf Hitler were part of the 'good in ALL of us', or some Left Coast inanity that cloaks moral cowardice as 'rational' and positive action.

And without knowing me, you call me irrational and subtly suggest I should be 'dealt with' - Rather seems to be a case of hypocrisy there after you accuse me of them same thing. But I'm sure that you can find a lawyer to justify any such behaviour.

In any case, One Who Knows, know this - That despite your demand that ALL people agree with you, there are those rational who will draw their own conclusions and disagree with you in the name of freedom. And you will be forced one day to admit you are wrong.
Posted by D F Stuckey  on  Fri May 08, 2009  at  03:30 PM
Poisoned her daughter???

There is a very strong likelihood that Mrs. Ybarra has been poisoning her child. If she has Munchausen...she probably has Munchausen by Proxy.

Her child is sick. But, does she have what her mother says she has? Or, has she been poisoned.

For the sake of the daughter...the authorities need to check this out thoroughly...
Posted by Amazed  on  Sat Oct 03, 2009  at  09:58 PM
Hope is now in the Tarrant County Jail for injury to a child.
Posted by SG  on  Mon Oct 26, 2009  at  05:13 PM
I worked with Hope in the past. Not only did she lie about her illness she also lied about having a Phd. I feel sorry for her children and will never feel sorry for her.
Posted by JL  on  Thu Jan 14, 2010  at  09:07 AM
Oh great. Now I'm quoted by some currymunching mofo to justify *their* scam.

The Intertubes - where human nature comes out to play.
Posted by D F Stuckey  on  Sun Sep 05, 2010  at  07:33 PM
I know her ex-husband. He had no idea what she was up to and was shocked when he found out. He doesn't talk about it much, but I know he is raising their kids and moving on with life. I meet her once and she seem so genuine. It shocked us when we found out. Well she deserves what she gets.
Posted by Daniel Lopez  on  Thu May 03, 2012  at  11:01 AM
I knew Hope and her family too. i worked with Hope's mother and it became clear to me after all this came out that her mother has the same disease. Her mother is very bright and a healthcare worker. There isn't any way a mother who is very familiar with disease and healthcare settings could have ever believed this ruse. Hope faked going into the hospital and having miscarriages, operations, chemotherapy, deafness and a cochlear implant. Her own mother has had a number of "diseases" that stump Dr's and are are "rare." I wouldn't be surprised if "one who knows" is her mother. I have friends who did not get their money back. I was smart enough to know there was something not right about all this and didn't give money. This was very sad, and it is even more sad that she will get out of jail someday and she and her mother will continue this somewhere else where people don't know them.
Posted by RM  on  Sat Feb 16, 2013  at  09:48 AM
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