TOLEDO, Ohio — 11 Investigates has learned that authorities have filed a criminal charge against the local woman accused of faking cancer to garner support and monetary donations.
The Lucas County prosecutor's office charged Lisa Titkemeier with theft by deception, a fourth degree felony.
The case was filed shortly before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. If she pleads guilty, Titkemeier will be required to pay restitution of $25,000, according to the prosecutor's office.
In 2020 and early 2021, the Titkemeier family of Toledo became one of the faces of efforts to raise money for the families of slain Toledo Police Officers Anthony Dia and Brandon Stalker, holding multiple fundraisers and collecting about $15,000 for the families.
When Lisa Titkemeier began telling family and friends in 2020 that she was battling non-Hodgkin’s follicular lymphoma and that she and her husband, Ryan Titkemeier, were struggling to pay medical bills, the community embraced them. Four benefit events collected $16,833.65. Additional money, food, and gift cards poured in beginning in early 2021.
Our 11 investigates team spent weeks looking into this case and learned that the St. Francis High School community rallied around the family with a meal train while Lisa Titkemeier said she was being treated for cancer. Between Sept. 8, 2021 and Dec. 17, 2021 supporters provided 44 meals or gift cards to the family. Ryan Titkemeier is an intervention specialist at the school.
Multiple friends and family members told 11 Investigates that they questioned her diagnosis through the years. They said they were suspicious when Titkemeier would not allow anyone to accompany her on doctor's appointments and when she shaved her head but still appeared to have hair follicles, which would not be the case for someone losing their hair during cancer treatment.
Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents sent subpoenas to Mercy Health St. Anne’s, Toledo Clinic and ProMedica, seeking Lisa Titkemeier's medical records. Agents found no records that she had been diagnosed with cancer or treated for cancer, court documents said.
Ohio BCI agents also interviewed Lisa Titkemeier in April 2023. Agents said she she admitted to making up her cancer diagnosis, according to the court document.
Court documents indicate agents seized Lisa and Ryan Titkemeier's iPhone 13s on Oct. 5, 2023 as evidence in the case.
According to the Ohio Revised Code, for a fourth degree felony, Titkemeier could face 6 to 18 months behind bars.
Titkemeier is due in court on March 28.
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