Lindsey Abbuhl: Ohio woman pleads guilty to starting fake GoFundMe to help 'terminally ill' daughter
CANTON, OHIO: A woman in Ohio pleaded guilty for fabricating her daughter's illness in order to get money, on November 17. The woman reportedly started a GoFundMe page called 'Rylee's Warriors', which raised more than $4,500 in 2021 before being shut down.
According to WOIO, Lindsey Abbuhl, 35, claimed her 11-year-old daughter, Rylee, was terminally ill and started a fake campaign to solicit money from people for three years. Abbuhl entered a guilty plea to two offences on November 17 - second-degree child endangerment and fourth-degree theft, according to Stark County Prosecutor Kyle Stone. As part of a plea agreement, officials mandated that Abbuhl serve four to six years in prison and pay $8,529.90 in compensation to the victims of her scam.
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“Essentially, this plea was a way to bring closure to the several parties involved in this case,” Stone reportedly said, adding, “This was also the best way to avoid the possibility of further traumatizing a child that has already been through so much.”
In May 2021, Daily Mail reported that Abbuhl had lost custody of Rylee when her long con was revealed in court. She started soliciting money for living and "medical needs" three years ago, taking Rylee to the doctor frequently and informing her that she was about to die. In Rylee's honour, charitable occasions were arranged, and the two were given complimentary tickets to Sea World. The Texas A&M softball game designated them as guests of honour.
On May 11, 2021, a court announced that they had not discovered any illness-related evidence in Rylee's case. According to a complaint for neglect and abuse made in Family Court by Children Services, Abbuhl "has been utilising Rylee's'medical condition' for the previous many years to acquire financing for trips, housing, and other costs." According to papers obtained by The Canton Repository, a doctor examined Rylee's medical data in the areas of neurology, genetics, gastroenterology, haematology, rheumatology, pulmonology and podiatry and came to the following conclusion, "There is no evidence to support mother's claim that Rylee is terminally ill."
"Rylee has been seeing a counselor for the past three years to learn how to process her own death," the report stated, adding, "(Lindsey) also told the counselor, who is going on maternity leave, that Rylee may not be alive when the counselor returns."
Jamie, Rylee's father, who had divorced Abbuhl in 2017 and addressed the issue of Rylee's illness, was given full custody of the girl. Abbuhl had also previously claimed she had a brain tumour and even recruited families to take Rylee in after she died. She regularly posted pictures, claiming they were of her daughter's hospital visits, on social media.
In order to generate money for medical expenses, Abbuhl, a supervisor at a bowling alley, planned youth softball tournaments called 'Rylee's Warriors' in April 2021, in Plain Township. Wishes Can Happen organised a trip to Key West, Florida, for Lindsey and her daughter in December 2021. An event called 'Rylee Day' was held at the Hall of Fame Fitness Center in conjunction with an indoor exhibition game between the softball teams from Malone and Walsh universities.