MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - A Midland woman who pretended to have cancer was sentenced to five years in federal prison for wire fraud and obstructing justice.
The United States Attorney's Office said that while Judy Kay Fryar was the on-site manager for the Park West Apartments in Midland, she accepted cash payments from tenants and kept them for herself. She would then alter company records to conceal her actions.
Fryar took approximately $140,000 from her employer, SKP Holdings, in California.
Her scheme was discovered when an owner made an on-site visit and noticed a tenant making a rental payment in cash.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Fryar obstructed justice by pretending to have Stage 4 Lung Cancer in order to get sympathy as well as 10 continuances in her trial.
Fryar presented the court with forged letters and medical records from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center that said she was undergoing extensive radiation, chemotherapy and other experimental treatments.
Before she began filing the motions for continuance, Fryar received notification from M.D. Anderson that she tested negative for cancer and that she did not require any treatment.
Fryar received a sentence of 5 years in federal prison for wire fraud and obstructing justice. She is also ordered to pay $138,589 in restitution. She will also be placed on supervised release for three years after her prison term.
