A mother who faked ovarian cancer to dupe well-wishers out of over £52,000 was a ‘fantasist’ who craved attention and would lie about having famous pals, a former friend has claimed.
Nicole Elkabbas, 42, was jailed for two years and nine months after claiming she needed to pay for treatment and set up a charitable GoFundMe website, before transferring donations into her own bank account.
She used the profits to fund her gambling addiction and pay off mounting debts – as well as funding her ‘lavish lifestyle’, including trips to Barcelona and Rome and a £3,592 luxury box to watch a football match.
Jo Mapp, 50, from Kent, who has known Elkabbas for ten years, appeared on This Morning today where she revealed that the fraudster had sown ‘seeds of fantasy’ in the past, lying about knowing a host of famous people.
Forensic psychologist Dr Keri Nixon added that Elkabbas’ motives were not solely for monetary gain, and that her con was all about gaining ‘attention’ and making ‘people feel sorry for her’.
Nicole Elkabbas, 42, claimed she needed to pay for ovarian cancer treatment and set up a charitable GoFundMe website before transferring donations into her own bank account. Pictured, a photo of Elkabbas having undergone gall bladder surgery
Elkabbas is pictured arriving at Canterbury Crown Court after duping well-wishers out of over £52,000 which she spent on funding her ‘lavish lifestyle’
‘Everybody wanted to help because we are a really small community, but there were seeds of fantasy before,’ said Jo.
‘She had mentioned she hung out with famous people and knew these famous people and although I didn’t believe it, it was harmless at that point.
‘It was always about [appearance]. She was very well-groomed, she took a lot of pride in her appearance. So I can see it was very much about attention, as opposed to the money.’
Elkabbas originally lied to Jo at one of their friend’s funerals, but played the ‘hero’ by insisting that the day ‘shouldn’t be about her’.
Jo Mapp, 50, from Kent, has known Elkabbas for ten years, and appeared on This Morning today where she revealed that the fraudster had sown ‘seeds of fantasy’ in the past
‘She told me at a friend’s funeral’, said Jo, ‘Just as we came out of the funeral, she told me her cancer had come back – but heroically said: “Today isn’t about me, we’re at a funeral”.
‘I was devastated for her, gobsmacked. I hadn’t realised she had cancer previously so I got in touch and sent her a message later saying is there anything I can do to help.
‘She suggested we do some events to raise money because she needed treatment abroad’.
A fundraising page entitled ‘Nicole needs our help treatment’ was created by Elkabbas and made to look like it had been set up by her mother, who she cared for full time.
Elkabbas was found guilty of fraud and jailed for two years and nine months. Pictured, in a police mugshot
It played on the public’s heartstrings by describing her as a ‘beautiful daughter’ and ‘loving mother to her dear 11-year-old son’.
The page also described the trauma of undergoing three operations and six rounds of chemotherapy and detailed how she desperately needed money to pay for a breakthrough drug in Spain – adding that it was the ‘only way she could be saved’.
The page included a picture of Elkabbas lying in a hospital bed, which hospital staff later realised was from a previous operation to have her gall bladder removed.
‘I was really, really shocked and in disbelief,’ said Jo. ‘I was still maintaining it wasn’t true.
‘Even though there were fantasist elements I didn’t think anyone would do anything as serious as that, so I still maintained she was innocent and was sending messages of support’.
She added: ‘I’ve gone though shock and anger and now I think it’s an undiagnosed illness, I’m not angry anymore, I’m just baffled.’
Keri, from Wirral, explained that Elkabbas’ con was not just down to funding her ‘lavish lifestyle’, but because she wanted a lifestyle where ‘she was the centre of attention’.
‘What’s really interesting is when people commit this kind of fraud it’s about monetary gain fundamentally, said Keri. ‘But the method she used, absolutely it was about her.
Forensic psychologist Dr Keri Nixon (pictured) added that Elkabbas’ motives were not solely for monetary gain, and that her con was all about gaining ‘attention’
‘Telling her friend on the day of the funeral, she was making it all about her. As well as monetary gain, she wanted attention and people to feel sorry about her – hence why she told her [Jo] in that manner’.
She went on: ‘If it was about just grabbing cash, she could have used any number of ways to do it.
‘The fact she chose that method, in that way – to get attention, to tell as many people, to set up the page – was not just about money, it was about he attention, the need for everyone feeling sorry for her as well as the money.
‘And funding her lavish lifestyle. It wasn’t just about paying off debt but having this lifestyle where she was the centre of attention’.