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Long Island Woman Who Ran Cancer Scam Gets Prison Sentence After Failing Rehab

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Long Island woman who scammed people for donations for phony cancer treatments in order to feed a heroin addiction is now headed to prison.

Brittany Ozarowski, of Miller Place, pleaded guilty in December 2013 to grand larceny, forgery and other charges.

Although Ozarowski could have faced a sentence of up to seven years in prison, the judge sentenced the then-21-year-old to a two year drug treatment program plus an additional year of probation. She was also ordered to pay more than $10,000 in restitution.

But on Monday, a judge sentenced Ozarowski to up to three years in prison after learning she had failed out of the court-mandated drug program, according to Newsday.

Ozarowski's attorney, George Duncan, said she got a violation in the program for smoking a cigarette.

Prosecutors said Ozarowski began befriending business owners and other people in her community in March 2012, telling them her story of fighting cancer. Some business owners were so taken by her plight that they organized community fundraisers for her benefit.

There is no way of knowing how much money Ozarowski pocketed in the scam because so many of the donations were in cash, prosecutors said.

Ozarowski's story began to unravel as volunteers became more interested in her plight. When one man offered to arrange treatments for her through a neurologist at Stony Brook Medical Center, she was a no-show. When others questioned why she had not lost her hair to chemotherapy, she told them she was taking special vitamins.

Eventually, suspicious donors went to the authorities, and she was arrested.

Prosecutors said Ozarowski has a history of drug arrests dating to 2010.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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