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Woman gets prison term for faking injuries to steal from Boston Marathon victims' fund

Investigators say a woman who stole $480,000 from a fund for Boston Marathon victims also tried to go on free cruise for bombing victims.

By Frances Burns
A group of people console one another at a candle at a candlelight vigil held at Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts on April 16, 2013. The vigil is in response to the bombings on Boylston Street near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon killing 3 and injuring 150. UPI/Matthew Healey
A group of people console one another at a candle at a candlelight vigil held at Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts on April 16, 2013. The vigil is in response to the bombings on Boylston Street near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon killing 3 and injuring 150. UPI/Matthew Healey | License Photo

BOSTON, May 20 (UPI) -- A woman who faked head injuries to get almost $500,000 from a fund for Boston Marathon bombing victims was sentenced Tuesday to up to three years.

Investigators said Audrea Gause of Troy, N.Y., submitted forged medical records to the One Fund as proof that she had suffered a brain injury and received $480,000 in compensation. She used the money to pay a contractor for a new house and to pay off her car loan.

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A judge in Boston imposed a 2 1/2 to three-year prison term on Gause, who faced up to five years after pleading guilty to a single count of larceny. Prosecutors asked for four to five years.

Gause also tried to sign up for a free cruise set up by a Boston travel company for victims of the bombing.

The One Fund was set up after the bombings on April 15, 2013. Three people were killed and more than 260 were hurt.

Investigators found no evidence Gause had been in Boston during the bombings.

"It is disturbing that this defendant would attempt to steal from the real victims of the Marathon bombing through fraud and deceit," Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said. "As a result of our investigation, we recovered all of the money and it is now being returned to The One Fund Boston. This defendant will now serve time in state prison for her actions."

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Two brothers in Boston are awaiting trial on charges of submitting a false claim for $2 million for an aunt who had died.

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