BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A Jamaica Plain woman who is accused of scamming the One Fund will most likely be in court in February for her trial.
Joanna Leigh wore sunglasses to cover her face in court Thursday during a pretrial hearing. She is accused of lying about suffering a traumatic brain injury during the Boston Marathon bombings and receiving thousands from the One Fund charity, which is supposed to help victims of the attack.
She pleaded not guilty in court Thursday and maintains her innocence.
She was indicted in March after fraudulently getting almost $40,000 in benefits. 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, instead of away from it.
Leigh got $8,000 from the One Fund and 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.
Leigh will return to court for her trial in February.
