Phoenix Jail Prisoners Victims in Fake Illness Scam

by Matt Clarke

Margarita Zaragoza was in the process of bonding out her former cellmate using her car as collateral when she found out the truth—she had been had. And Zaragoza was not alone. Other prisoners at the Phoenix jail had also been taken in by Kelly Wasko, a smooth-talking con artist.

The prisoners say Wasko, 41, befriended them all while telling them sad stories about how she had multiple sclerosis and was in jail for taking a $1,500 charity check from the Salvation Army. She made promises to pay them back for anything they gave her. Her apparent intent was to scam them out of items from the jail commissary, such as envelopes and food.

"I'm in shock. What do I believe? I'm still in shock," said Zaragoza. "She's a sweet person and I wouldn't look at her like she would do something like this."

After her release Zaragoza checked online and discovered that Wasko was actually in jail for allegedly faking cancer to solicit over $12,000 in donations from family and friends online.

"She never takes pills, never takes medicine. She's healthy," Zaragoza said. "I called the bondsman…I find out this ... so what, she's going to lie to me the whole time? All her friends turned their backs on her, I see why."

Wasko was sentenced in May 2013 to 18 months in prison.

Sources: www.myfoxphoenix.com, Phoenix New Times