‘Professional fraudster’ who collected €470,000 for phantom cancer treatment is jailed for four years, fined €70,000

A 60-year-old Zabbar woman has been sentenced to imprisonment for four years and fined €70,000 after she was found guilty of defrauding three victims out of a total of €470,000.  

She had falsely claimed to need funds for cancer treatment and instead using the money to finance her gambling addiction.

Anna Cutajar, described as a “professional fraudster” by the prosecution, had been arraigned in court last November, with the court being told that she had come up with the scheme while living off social benefits. 

Cutajar would ask for donations, telling her victims that she needed money to cover the costs of cancer treatment, either for herself or her friend’s terminally ill son. But all of the money collected had in fact been frittered away in casinos, the court was told.

During her arraignment, the woman had pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, misappropriation and money laundering. She had been remanded in custody and placed in psychiatric care.

As the case against the woman continued before Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, the Attorney General and the defence had filed a joint note in court, explaining that agreement had been reached on a plea bargain whereby Cutajar would plead guilty to the charges in return for a four-year jail term and a €70,000 fine.

After hearing submissions on the plea deal, and taking note of the woman’s clean criminal record on one hand and her serious crimes on the other, the court ruled that the punishment being suggested was fitting.

In addition to the punishment, the court also ordered the confiscation of all of Cutajar’s assets in favour of the government and ordered the woman to bear the costs of the case, which added up to €2,219.21.