The strange and sad story of a bogus program to fight terminal cancer first reported by APR will be the subject of an episode of the CNBC show “American Greed” which airs Monday night.
Former teacher Jenny Cataldo has fooled her family and friends for years, claiming to have terminal cancer and an endless series of complications, cheating on loved ones – as well as churches, online fundraisers and local schools – over hundreds of thousands of dollars. It all fell apart when her father reached out to APR‘s Josh Moon in 2017, asking him to investigate why Alabama government officials were illegally preventing his dying daughter from receiving a lawsuit settlement.
Moon and Jamie Moncus, a Birmingham lawyer who was friends with Cataldo’s family, quickly realized there was no government plan, only Cataldo making up one crazy story after another in an attempt to keep it going. scam a little longer. After gathering evidence, Moon and Moncus, fearing Cataldo would hurt himself or others if they were confronted, turned what they had to law enforcement.
“It was by far the strangest story I have ever covered,” Moon said. “And it was incredibly sad. Her poor family and friends were devastated by this, and it’s clear that something had gone wrong in Jenny’s life to lead to it. Everyone lost, especially his parents who were some of the nicest and most genuine people I have ever met.
Cataldo eventually admitted his crimes and served about a year in prison for theft by deception. She swore to repay what she stole.
The episode “American Greed”, dedicated to online crooks, features interviews with Moon, Moncus and former Alabama Attorney General’s Office investigator Jake Frith, who handled Cataldo’s case. The episode airs Monday night at 9 p.m. on CNBC.
