A California man admitted he lied about having terminal cancer after receiving thousands of dollars in donations to play in a World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Robert Mercer claimed to have terminal stage 4 colon cancer and convinced people to donate to his online campaign to help pay for entry into the Las Vegas competition.
Now, the 37-year-old Vallejo resident has told the publication it was all a lie.
“I lied about having colon cancer. I don’t have colon cancer,” Mercer told David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “What I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have told people I had colon cancer.”
Mercer started his GoFundMe campaign in June, according to the newspaper.
But a few months later, people in the poker community became skeptical of Mercer’s condition, according to Doug Parscal Jr., who made a donation to Mercer.
“It was a mix of emotions because on one hand, I wish he was lying,” Parscal Jr. told CNN . “Because I don’t want someone to die because of this.”
The goal of the campaign was to fulfill Mercer’s dream of playing in the WSOP’s $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Mercer also received donations through private transactions, including a paid suite at the Bellagio hotel during the tournament. In total, he received between US$30,000 and US$50,000 in donations, according to the newspaper.
He has no intention of reimbursing anyone, according to the Review-Journal, because “he believes he has undiagnosed breast cancer and the donations were made because he was ill.”
A CNN reached out to Mercer for comment.
A ‘heinous’ act
Cody Daniels is also competing in the World Series of Poker competition, but says he is legitimately battling a chronic illness. He told CNN that hearing about Mercer’s false diagnosis is “heinous.”
“When there were doubts about his illness, I didn’t know what to root for,” Daniels told CNN . “Either she was lying or dying.”
“I spent half my life in the hospital and to do what he did is crazy,” Daniels said. “It’s a shame and one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.”
Online fundraising has been removed since Mercer’s confession, says Jeff Platt, a GoFundMe spokesman.
“GoFundMe has zero tolerance for misuse of our platform and takes swift action against those who exploit the generosity of our community,” Platt told CNN in a statement.
“All donors have been fully refunded and Rob Mercer has been banned from using the platform for any future fundraising.”
GoFundMe is also cooperating with law enforcement investigations, according to Platt.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
