Guy Used Bogus Cancer Story to Con Woman: Cops

But really used the $15K to feed gambling habit
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 13, 2014 6:40 PM CST
Guy Used Bogus Cancer Story to Con Woman: Cops
A man is accused of bilking a woman he met at a racetrack out of $15,000 with a bogus story about having cancer.   (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

State police say a Pennsylvania man who befriended a woman at a harness racing track two years ago conned her out of $15,000 by pretending he had cancer. Police say 59-year-old David Lancos of Baden told them he used the money to feed his gambling habit; they add that he met the woman at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in southwestern Pennsylvania in December 2012. Lancos told the woman he needed $300 to cover his monthly medications, money for two trips to a Philadelphia cancer center, and, finally, $9,000 to help him liquidate his fictional share of a business so he could pay medical bills. Lancos is jailed on an unrelated theft charge. (Read more weird crimes stories.)

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