Mother-of-three who shaved off her hair and claimed she had terminal cancer to try and claim £130,000 life insurance payout avoids jail

•  Gemma Goodwin, 38, forged medical documents stating she had cancer
•  She lied she only had a year to live and a friend set up a fundraising page online
• It raised £2,000 which she withdrew and blew on a holiday with her kids
•  She admitted fraud and got two years imprisonment suspended for two years

A ‘shameless’ mother-of-three who claimed she had terminal cancer and shaved off her hair to defraud her insurer out of over £130,000 has been spared jail.

Gemma Goodwin, 38, forged medical documents stating she had breast, lung and cervical cancer.

She claimed she only had a year to live and a friend set up a fundraising page online called: ‘Gemma’s treatment in America’.

It read: ‘As you all know Gemma has sadly been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, stage 2 breast and cervical cancer.

‘We initially only intended on making the most of what time she had left as treatment in America seemed impossible but after a lot of consideration and numerous calls from consultants Gemma has decided to fight for more time with her 3 beautiful kids.

‘The treatment will potentially give her another three years. The NHS will fund the actual treatment but we need to raise the money to get here there. The total is for insurance, flights and accomodation. Please, please share and donate as much as you can, every little bit will help get Gemma the treatment she is so desperate for. Thank you to everyone that has so far donated and shared our page, your kindness means so much to Gemma.’

The fundraising page raised £2,000 which she withdrew and blew on a holiday with her kids, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Gemma Goodwin (pictured above), 38, forged medical documents stating she had breast, lung and cervical cancer. She claimed she only had a year to live and a friend set up a fundraising page online called: ‘Gemma’s treatment in America’

Goodwin took out a life insurance policy which included a terminal illness benefit in 2015 worth £130,000.

It meant the holder was compensated in the event of being diagnosed with a condition carrying a life expectancy of less than twelve months.

Three years later, Goodwin emailed the insurer to report that she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and had about a year to live.

She also sent a letter asking how she could claim in order to support her children and to make funeral arrangements.

Goodwin contacted the insurance company again two months later stating that she did not wish to proceed with the claim.

But she then said she wanted to nominate a beneficiary to manage the claim upon her death and nominated a friend from work.

Goodwin submitted the relevant forms for the claim to her insurer, including a letter from a local hospital confirming her diagnosis and prognosis.

The insurer then requested details of her medical condition and history directly from the NHS, prompting Goodwin to cancel her claim.

Five months after the insurers discovered that her records had been forged, in January 2019, Goodwin contacted the company to claim she had just two to three months left to live.

Goodwin then repeatedly tried to alter the policy but in late 2019 the firm wrote back to say the police had been cancelled due to evidence it was fraudulent.

The nominated beneficiary was interviewed by a detective from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) and explained she had met Goodwin in 2012 through work.

They became friends and during their seven-year friendship, Goodwin repeatedly lied to her friend about the state of her health, claiming to have lupus and various forms of cancer.

The fundraising page raised £2,000 which Goodwin withdrew and blew on a holiday with her kids, Woolwich Crown Court heard

The friend revealed Goodwin had even shaved her head and discussed travelling to the US to receive treatment.

Detectives discovered an online fundraising page had been set up by another acquaintance of Goodwin and raised £2,033.

Goodwin, of Brent Way, Dartford, Kent, withdrew the cash and take her children on holiday.

She admitted fraud and was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years with a six-month electronically-tagged curfew at Woolwich Crown Court.

Two years ago at Maidstone Crown Court the mum of three was spared jail after claiming she was dying of cancer to con £19,000 in benefits.

Detective Constable Kim Negus, from IFED said: ‘Goodwin is a deceitful and shameless individual, exploiting a devastating illness for personal financial gain.

‘What’s worse is that this is not the first time she has attempted to cheat the system, having previously been convicted for fraudulently claiming housing and long-term illness benefits.

‘Goodwin clearly has no remorse when it comes to her fraudulent activity, but she should know by now that the truth will always be uncovered in the end.’

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