Mum faked cancer to con friends out of $86,000 for overseas holidays, gambling, court hears

Mum Nicole Elkabbass is accused of lying about having cancer to raise funds for overseas holidays and her gambling addiction. Photo / GoFundMe

A mum has been accused of faking a cancer diagnosis to help raise $86,000 for lavish holidays and a gambling addiction.

UK woman Nicole Elkabbass claimed a doctor diagnosed her with ovarian cancer before setting up a GoFundMe in a bid to raise funds for cancer drugs that weren't available in England, a court was told.

The GoFundMe account featured a picture of the 42-year-old lying in a hospital, which the prosecution alleges was taken when she previously had her gallbladder removed.

But the money wasn't used for cancer treatment, instead, Elkabbass spent close to $8000 on tickets to football team Tottenham Hotspur and $600 buying flights and hotels to Barcelona and Rome, it is claimed.

She had also allegedly gambled around $130,000 through online bingo, the casino and a betting agency.

However, the mother of one told the court she "truly believed" she had cancer, claiming her friend and doctor had diagnosed her.

She told the court her overseas trips were to seek medical treatment.

Elkabbass claimed Dr Nick Morris, a leading gynaecologist, had run a series of tests on her that revealed she had cancer in 2017," Metro reported.

He told the court he had never treated her and instead she had told him she had cancer.

The jury was told she came across a $75,000 drug in Spain at Barcelona's Centro Medico Teknon Hospital which prompted her to set up the GoFundMe.

She said she couldn't afford the treatment initially due to her gambling problem. She now claims she has beaten cancer.

Prosecutors claim there was no evidence she visited a Spanish hospital.

The trial is ongoing.