A judge on Tuesday ordered a Michigan woman to spend a year in jail for scamming thousands of US dollars from donors by drugging her 12-year-old son to make him appear to have cancer.
Carol Schnuphase, 47, pleaded no contest last month to charges of second-degree child abuse and acting under false pretenses. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but allowed a judge to convict and sentence her.
On Tuesday, she apologized for her actions in Macomb County Circuit Court before Judge Richard Caretti announced he would send her to the county jail rather than his preference — state prison.
“Your conduct, ma’am, in this case is reprehensible. To tell a vulnerable, defenseless young boy that he is dying of cancer for your own pecuniary gain is almost beyond the realm of comprehension,” said Caretti, who based his sentence on a deal reached with Schnuphase’s lawyer. “To then give your son strong opiate-based pills crushed up in his apple sauce to further your despicable scheme defies all reason.”
The defendant’s aunt, Lorraine Kelsch, said after the sentencing that the family had wanted -Schnuphase to be sentenced to five years in prison.
“My reaction is disgust,” Kelsch said. “That sentence stinks. It’s horrible.”
Prosecutors said a hospital tested the boy, who is now 13, and declared him cancer-free, although he was going through opiate withdrawal.
Defense attorney Dominic Greco, however, said Schnuphase denies having given her son “opiates of any kind.
“There are other ways for the test being false,” he said, pointing to the possibility that the medication Schnuphase was giving her son to combat acid reflux may have resulted “in a false positive.”
Greco said his client’s actions were out of character and may have stemmed in part from her husband’s sudden death and the recent loss of her job.
“She was basically at the end of her rope,” Greco said.
Prosecutors said Schnuphase last year solicited donations from individuals, groups and members of at least one church who believed they were helping to pay for her son’s medical care as he underwent chemotherapy. She received US$7,500 from a church fundraiser, in addition to other donations, and her son was given gifts, including an Xbox video game system.
Caretti ordered Schnuphase to pay more than US$10,000 in restitution to the church, Roseville Community Schools and others who gave her money.
He also ordered her to serve three years of probation. She can also expect six months of house arrest with a tether upon her release from the Macomb County jail.
County assistant prosecutor Therese Tobin said she hasn’t seen a case like this one in her career.
“She shaved his head. She shaved his eyebrows. She told him he was dying,” Tobin said.
The state is trying to terminate Schnuphase’s parental rights to the boy, who is now in foster care. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for April 15.
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