8 years in jail for cancer liar

A US WOMAN has been sentenced to eight years in prison for scamming family and friends out of tens of thousands of dollars by claiming her husband was sick with cancer.

Thirty-year-old Melanie Chen, from Delaware, Ohio, was also ordered to pay more than $792,000 (€536,965) to the 13 victims, plus court costs.

In August, the mother-of-six pleaded guilty to one count of theft. In exchange for her plea, a charge of receiving stolen property was dismissed.

Chen was sentenced yesterday, and could have received up to 10 years in prison.

Her husband, 38-year-old Phylip Chen, is also charged in the case, but prosecutors have agreed to drop his charges if he passes a lie detector test.