Woman accused of fraud gets death threat, lawyer says

A Calgary woman accused of defrauding people by claiming she had cancer has received a death threat, her lawyer said Wednesday.

Defence counsel Michelle Parhar said Jennifer Halford received a note at her Calgary home, making the threat even more menacing.

“She has received some threatening messages in the weeks past,” Parhar said shortly after making a brief court appearance for her client. “She’s been very scared, she has a family she’s very close to.”

The lawyer said Halford hasn’t pursued the matter with police.

“She received a note that said ‘die b---- die,’ in capital letters,” Parhar said. “It obviously disturbed her very much that not only did people know her address, but saw fit to threaten her life.”

She has received some threatening messages in the weeks past. She’s been very scared, she has a family she’s very close to.

“She’s very withdrawn from having any wish to see any of this go further than it already has,” the lawyer said of Halford’s reluctance to get police involved. “She’s having a difficult time coping with everything that’s happened.”

In court, the Crown filed new information laying an additional four fraud charges against her, bringing to 11 the total number of allegations that she bilked people by claiming she was ill with cancer.

She was initially charged with seven counts of fraud under $5,000 in May.

Halford is accused of faking cancer to fraudulently solicit donations.

“She was (allegedly) using social media, Facebook, to perpetrate a story of illness to gain advantage, and she gained that advantage, it’s alleged, in multiple forms — clothing, groceries, cash, gift cards — in regards to the story that she was portraying,” said Cory Dayley, acting Staff Sgt. of the Calgary police cyber forensics unit.

While most of the victims didn’t keep track of the amount they lost, some spoke of giving items that added up to between $500 and $1,000.

Halford’s five-year-old daughter died in January 2011 of Mitochondrial disease.

Parhar asked provincial court Judge Harry Van Harten to adjourn the case to Oct. 27, when she hopes to get disclosure on the four new charges from the Crown.

Halford is out of custody pending a resolution to the case.