Hospice worker who faked cancer swindled $30,000 from caring friends

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ennifer Risa Stover, 35, of Wheat Ridge, Colo., who allegedly pretended to have cancer and bilked her coworkers and their friends out of more than $30,000.

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A Colorado hospice care worker was able to raise an amazing $30,000 in the name of fighting cancer - but her motives were anything but benign, according to a report.

The 35-year-old medical worker from Colorado was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury for swindling friends and coworkers by pretending she had cancer - a lie that she'd been stretching since 2008, according to a broadcast by Colorado’s 9News.

Jennifer Risa Stover, who worked at the Collier Hospice in Wheat Ridge, reportedly told a co-worker she had a cyst in her uterus and was undergoing "experimental treatment," as part of her ruse to miss work and collect money from concerned friends.

"Our hearts went out to her. She went to a doctor and was having some issues. She didn't want to talk about it much. The next thing I know is that she has cancer," coworker Rosemary Swingle told the news station.

One magnanimous colleague gave Stover $12,000 from her own life savings, according to the report.

"She has a heart of gold. She didn't even question it. Didn't even question it. Believed her," the news show quoted Swingle describing the hoodwinked Samaritan.

Stover allegedly managed to dupe 16 people to donate a total of $30,000 to help cover medical costs and a burdensome mortgage.

The Jefferson County district attorney, Scott Storey, said investigators don't know where the money went.

Court records show Stover told her bosses she needed time off to undergo treatment for uterine cancer but quit when she could not produce legitimate documentation to justify her absences.

"Jennifer Stover was an employee here and she voluntarily resigned in June of 2010 when we requested verification for her request of medical leave of absence. She did not provide it and she instead resigned," Wendy Forbes, director of communications for Collier Hospice told 9News.

Court records show Stover was trying to pay off loans and had gone through a divorce, but had no criminal record prior to this arrest.

Stover, who now works as a temp at the Hospice of St. John according to 9News, was charged with theft and charitable fraud and posted $5,000 bond on Tuesday.