WHAT A HEEL: Woman Opens Sympathy Card To Find Out She Died Of Breast Cancer
For the past two years, Scott Wellington’s boss and co-workers at C&M Machine Co. commiserated with him as his wife fought breast cancer, underwent debilitating chemo treatments, had a double mastectomy and eventually succumbed to the illness, leaving behind four children under the age of 10. It was all a lie, with Wellington, 31, now accused of bilking his employer of more than $7,000 in donations and paid time off, Union Leader (Manchester, NH) reports:
“We were extra sympathetic to this guy,” said Dan Villemaire, president of C&M Machine Co. “My father, Paul, the CEO of this company, is a cancer survivor. This really pulled at our heartstrings.” …
“At Christmastime we even gave him three or four weeks off - paid - because she wasn’t doing well,” said Villemaire. “But it was a lie. It was all a lie.”
Police said the ruse was exposed when Wellington’s wife, whom police aren’t identifying, opened a sympathy card that was sent to Wellington’s Greenville home from C&M Machine Co. containing a $500 or $600 money order.
The wife contacted Villemaire to tell him that she was indeed alive, and Villemaire in turn called the authorities.
“She felt bad for all of us,” Villemaire said of Wellington’s wife, adding the company agreed to let her keep the money order rather than distribute it back to the many employees who gave small sums of cash.
Wellington was arrested on two counts of theft by deception, and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
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