Police: Man lies about cancer, goes to Disneyland

Police say a South Jordan man lied about having terminal cancer, which funded his family trip to Disneyland.

After a detective found out that the man did not have cancer and was not terminally ill, he was charged with third-degree communications fraud Thursday in 3rd District Court.

The 46-year-old man told people that he was terminally ill with cancer, and on Sept. 17, 2011, a local ward threw a fundraiser to send him and his family on a final vacation to Disneyland, according to the charges.

The man later told police that he deposited $568 from the fundraiser into his account. A South Jordan police detective also identified $1,135 in cash and check donations in the wife's bank account, given on the basis on her husband's presumed illness.

The man and his wife's bank accounts showed transactions in southern California cities and at Disneyland between Sept. 21 and Sept. 26 of last year.

mmcfall@sltrib.com