Boston Marathon bomb ‘victim’ admits to $40000 scam

Leigh applied for and received an $8,000 payment from One Fund Boston, which was set up to compensate bombing victims.

As it turns out, Leigh attended a viewing party for the marathon but left the area before the bombs exploded, the report says.

“This defendant exploited the compassion of people and agencies who wanted to help those in need”, Conley said.

The president of the One Fund, James D. Gallagher, issued a statement explaining how much time and effort went into helping Joanna, and how that their resources could have been used to help those who had actually been affected by the Boston Marathon massacre. “Every dollar she received was stolen from someone who truly deserved it”.

Leigh waged a campaign against One Fund, accusing the charity of malfeasance when it sought the medical records necessary to categorize her in the same group as those who were killed, underwent double amputations, or suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the bombings, according to Conley.

The Washington Post/The Washington Post/Getty Images Joanna Leigh said she suffered from a traumatic brain injury from the Bostom Marathon bombing, but her claims proved to be a lie.

Additionally, prosecutors said Leigh asked the One Fund to be classified as a victim “most seriously” injured by the Boylston Street blasts, but according to prosecutors, evidence against her indicated she was on Fairfield Street at the time. The GoFundMe page, Joanna Leigh Boston Hero, has since been removed.

The benefits and cash Leigh received included about $900 in cosmetic dermatology for facial redness, a procedure she had undergone at least once before the bombings, it said.

Leigh was sentenced to one year in prison, which was suspended for three years on probation. They also investigated her statements in the days after the bombing, and the different and contradictory stories she told local and national media outlets.

Zalkind added that Leigh likely would have been able to obtain the money legally because she was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after the bombings. “If she hadn’t lied about certain injuries and had told the truth instead of exaggerating, she would have probably gotten a few money anyway”, he said.