She faked cancer, now is on trial for conning vet charities
PHOENIX — An Arizona woman previously convicted of forging medical documents to receive a taxpayer-financed abortion now is on trial on charges that she scammed veterans charities out of thousands of dollars.
Chalice Zeitner, 30, who was indicted Aug. 17 on eight felony charges related to fraud and identity theft, did not appear before the Maricopa County Superior Court jury as they heard lawyers for the prosecution and defense present their opening statements. Judge Pamela Gates had agreed to her request that she watch the proceedings from a room at the back of the court.
The prosecutor, Maura Quigley of the Arizona Attorney General's Office, contended that Zeitner had "profited from nonprofits."
During a 2010 investigation, authorities discovered that Zeitner worked with Veterans Hope charities and Armed Forces Racing, two organizations closely tied to each other, according to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich's office. Quigley described how Zeitner forged relationships using a number of falsehoods, such saying she served in the Marine Corps, was a race-car driver and practiced with a successful law firm in South Africa.
Jury: Woman faked cancer to get tax-funded abortion
In 2012, Zeitner fraudulently obtained the personal information of the Veterans Hope founder and used his family's personal information — Social Security numbers, names and dates of birth — to open a credit-card account under their names without consent, Quigley said. Money also was deposited into Zeitner's boyfriend's account without his knowledge.
Charges on the card that totaled about $25,000 were not paid off, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Zeitner also is accused of contacting the Veteran Tickets Foundation to say that it was to be a preferred sponsorship organization for a veterans fundraising gala she was planning in the nation's capital, according to the state Attorney General's Office. Veterans Ticket Foundation agreed to a $10,000 sponsorship of a race car that was to shown at the gala and purchased several thousand dollars in tickets to the gala through Zeitner’s personal PayPal account.
More than $65K donated to WWII-veteran scam victim
None of the money was returned to the foundation, and the party didn't happen.
"You will see, you will learn, that the defendant made it seem like this would be the event," Quigley said about the gala.
Both the defense and the prosecution told jurors that the case would revolve around the foundation and the gala.
Navy charity fraud gets man 28 years in prison, $6M fine
"You're going to need to consider all the charges," defense attorney Richard Jones told jurors.
In April, Zeitner was found guilty on 11 counts of fraud and forgery, claiming in 2010 that she had cancer so she could get a taxpayer-financed abortion to begin treatment for the cancer. Her lawyer then said that Zeitner believed that she did have cancer.
Follow Claire M. Roney on Twitter: @claire_roney