Christopher Keenan Gordon went to those nearest and dearest to him two years ago to give them the bad news, police allege: He was dying of terminal brain cancer. And he needed help.
According to police, two long-time friends, Cherrie Ramone and Isaac Guardino, banded together to hold a fundraiser on his behalf. They raised $3,000.
But Mr. Gordon doesn't have cancer, police say. He never did - and he told his friends and would-be supporters as much this month, according to police.
Mr. Gordon now stands accused of faking a terminal illness for cash - the third such case in the province since August. He appeared in court at Old City Hall Friday, charged with one count of fraud under $5,000.
Just weeks before, two Ontario women pleaded guilty to fraud after they told friends, family and supporters they were suffering from cancer in order to reap the financial benefits.
Jessica Ann Leeder, a 21-year-old from Timmins, pleaded guilty Nov. 9 to one count of fraud over $5,000. Police say she faked stomach and lung cancer, defrauding her employer of thousands.
Burlington resident Ashley Kirilow, 23, pleaded guilty Nov. 2 to one charge of fraud over $5,000. She still faces six charges of fraud under $5,000, after she shaved her head, plucked her eyebrows and created a bogus charity to lend credence to the story she told family and friends: She was dying of breast cancer, and needed financial help.
Mr. Gordon, 39, appeared healthy during his brief court appearance. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt with a white skull and checkered heart on the back, with a red shirt underneath. He had a large tattoo on the back of his neck and a neatly trimmed dark beard. He put his ear up to the hole in the glass of his prisoner's box to better hear the Crown attorney read the conditions of his release.
He was released Friday pending a Nov. 30 court date, on $500 with no surety.
A publication ban requested by his lawyer David Taylor means none of the hearing proceedings can be published.
According to court documents, Mr. Gordon's conditions require him to take medications and counselling as prescribed, to report to the Toronto Bail Program, to continue to see his doctor and work with his mental-health worker as directed. He's also to remain at his current address.
Neither Mr. Gordon nor his lawyer would speak to the crush of journalists who waited outside the courtroom for him to emerge Friday.
"As I told you before," said the man answering a buzzer at Mr. Gordon's listed address, an apartment in a brick Parkdale duplex, "I'm not giving interviews. Thank you."
Both Ms. Ramone and Mr. Guardino, the two erstwhile friends police accuse Mr. Gordon of defrauding, declined to comment Friday. Reached by phone, Ms. Ramone said she'd been friends with Mr. Gordon for "many years" but didn't want to talk about the charge against him.
Toronto Police Constable Tony Vella said police aren't seeking anyone else who might have given Mr. Gordon money for his illness.
"From what I can gather, [investigators have]concluded their investigation; they spoke to a number of people ... they have reasonable grounds to lay the charges."