A rural Fairfield woman accused of faking a cancer diagnosis to obtain thousands of dollars from donors has pleaded not guilty in Wayne County Circuit Court.
47-year-old Stacey R. Robbins waived formal arraignment Tuesday afternoon and, through attorney Troy Parrish, entered not guilty pleas to theft, a Class 2 felony, and deceptive practice, a Class 4 felony.
Prosecutors allege Robbins collected money from individual donors and several fundraisers after falsely claiming she had cancer. The alleged fundraising included a Pink Out volleyball event, hat day, hot chocolate day and penny drive, along with fundraisers at Roads Church near Norris City.
In the deceptive practice case, Robbins is accused of receiving more than $7,000 through a GoFundMe fundraiser established by a friend.
Circuit Judge Denton Aud scheduled a pretrial hearing for September 8th. Robbins remains free pending further court proceedings.