A mother who faked her child’s terminal cancer diagnosis has defrauded a cancer charity of £4,000.

Charlotte Blackwell, 40, contacted the mother of Morgan Ridler – who died from a rare liver cancer just days before his fourth birthday – to ask for financial help from her charity, just months after Morgan passed away.

Natalie Ridler and the Morgan’s Army Charitable Foundation have raised thousands of dollars to help families like hers affected by childhood cancer.

Mrs. Ridler thought she was helping one such family, Blackwell’s, and they contacted the 33-year-old woman.

Blackwell said her child, who had been ill before, had become ill again and was receiving palliative care. She set up a GoFundMe to seek help. She subsequently received £4,000 from the charity before Ms Ridler discovered that Blackwell was lying.

Natalie Ridler pictured with her son Morgan. Charlotte Blackwell, 40, has cheated Mrs Ridler’s charity out of £4,000 after faking her own child’s cancer diagnosis

Morgan died of cancer on June 28 last year, a few days before his fourth birthday. Just months after his death, Blackwell contacted Morgan’s mother to ask for financial help

Blackwell, from Bridgend, South Wales, admitted fraud and was given a suspended sentence.

Mrs. Ridler said: ‘A few months ago I was contacted by a person who was very upset because their child had had a relapse. The family is known to us as a cancer family, and that’s how they got through our initial checks.

‘They were very upset about the prospect of having to go through it again, but also about the opportunities that had apparently been given to them.

Natalie said Blackwell told her they were raising money for treatment in Germany.

She said, “I supported this person emotionally for a number of weeks because they said the child was essentially receiving palliative care and there were no other options for him if he couldn’t have this treatment.”

Morgan’s Army donated to the fundraising page, but Ms Ridler discovered that Blackwell had also been messaging her charity supporters directly asking them for money as well

She said: ‘This was not something I would ever have told anyone to do. It’s not how I operate or run the charity.’

The mother became concerned when she discovered that Blackwell had asked other organizations for money, but that these organizations had refused their help. When she investigated further, she discovered the scam.

She added: ‘It turns out that a few years ago a child of this person had cancer and had been treated at Noah’s Ark, so they had failed our initial checks.

‘However, they had been in remission for some time, without active treatment, without a terminal prognosis and were, in layman’s terms, ‘completely healthy’.’

‘Fortunately, all funds released to the individual were frozen and recovered when the fraudulent activity came to light. The charity suffered no financial loss as a result.

Cardiff Crown Court where Blackwell, of Cefn Glas, Bridgend, pleaded guilty to fraudulently receiving funds from Morgan’s Army in an attempt to gain £4,000 for himself at Bridgend magistrates

‘They behaved horribly for weeks, knowing that they were lying and taking advantage of me.

‘They pampered me for two weeks, while I lived with pain in my heart for them.’

Blackwell, of Cefn Glas, Bridgend, pleaded guilty to fraudulently receiving money from Morgan’s Army in an attempt to gain £4,000 for himself at Bridgend magistrates court.

When Blackwell was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court, she was given a 10-month suspended prison sentence and a four-month curfew, supervised by a tag.

She must also carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £150 in costs and a surcharge.

Morgan died of cancer on June 28 last year, a few days before his fourth birthday. He was diagnosed with a rare and complex form of cancer in October 2021 at the age of two.

After the sentencing, his mother said, “This person was the parent of a child in remission and it amazes me that someone who has been through the same thing could do the same thing to another family with cancer.”