CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A judge says Australian author and blogger Belle Gibson, who lied about beating a normally deadly brain tumor through healthy eating, had exploited public generosity by falsely claiming most of her income went to charities.
Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer ruled Wednesday that Gibson’s deceptive and misleading claims about her charitable donations from the sales of her cook book “The Whole Pantry” and a related app constituted unconscionable conduct under Australian law.
Only 10,000 Australian dollars ($7,600) of her company Inkerman Road Nominees’ earnings of AU$420,000 went to charity.
She will be sentenced later this month.
