BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A Jamaica Plain woman who claims to be a Boston Marathon bombing victim is accused of stealing money from the One Fund.
Joanna Leigh was indicted after fraudulently getting almost $40,000 in benefits. The 41-year-old was indicted on five counts of larceny over $250 by false pretense and one count of making a false claim to a government agency in March. She will be arraigned Monday.
Police say their investigation revealed that Leigh was in fact at the marathon on April 15, 2013, but was not injured by the bombing. They say she waited two weeks after the event to see a doctor. Police also say she claimed to be a "hero" that ran toward the second explosion.
Leigh got $8,000 from the One Fund, which was established to help the victims of the bombing. Officials say she wanted more, $2 million to be exact, but would not release her medical records.
She also received more than $1,700 that children and faculty at a Mattapan middle school raised in her name. Plus, she was the beneficiary of more than $9,000 from an online fundraiser that referred to her in the third person, but was created and maintained using an email address in her name. She even accepted $18,000 in benefits from the state's Victims of Violent Crime Compensation fund.
Police say they have evidence to prove that Leigh saw a dermatologist for free at a location that provided free treatment to victims. Most were treated for scarring, but police say Leigh went in for facial redness, which was something she'd been seen for before the bombings even occurred.
"I saw first-hand the injuries true victims suffered on that day," said Police Commissioner William Evans. "Ms. Leigh saw an opportunity to take advantage of kind-hearted individuals who wanted to help those victims. I am grateful to the Boston Police Special Investigations Unit and the DA's Special Prosecutions Unit for their exceptional work in this complex investigation."
Leigh will be in court Monday to be arraigned on the charges.
