Ex-NY woman charged with faking cancer for wedding

[April 10, 2012]  GOSHEN, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities say a former New York woman pretended to have terminal cancer so she could have lavish wedding reception and honeymoon.

The Times Herald-Record reports (http://bit.ly/Hy08wo) an Orange County Grand jury has indicted 25-year-old Jessica Vega, a former Montgomery resident, with grand larceny and scheme to defraud. According to the indictment, Vega accepted thousands of dollars in donated services and goods after claiming in 2010 that she was dying of leukemia. The newspaper ran a story on Vega's wedding wish.

She married Michael O'Connell in May 2010 and the couple spent their honeymoon in Aruba.

Four months later, O'Connell told the newspaper that Vega was faking the illness.

The couple divorced over the incident, and O'Connell moved to Virginia. Vega later joined him. They have two children.

Vega was arraigned last Friday and pleaded not guilty. She's being held in county jail on $10,000 bail.

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Information from: The Times Herald-Record, http://www.th-record.com/

[Associated Press]

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