Pennsylvania beauty queen jailed after faking cancer to con tens of thousands from well-wishers to pay for treatment

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Brandi Lee Weaver-Gates, 23, claimed she suffered from leukemia for two years
The Penn State student allegedly stole from events held to raise money for her bogus cancer battle
Police say she repeatedly shaved her head and had her friends and family drive her to cancer hospitals and wait for her in the lobby for hours
Most recent charity event raised $14,000 for pageant queen's 'treatment'
Police got an anonymous letter earlier this year claiming Weaver-Gates could not name any of her doctors
Weaver-Gates won Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International in April 2015, but her crown has now been revoked

Published: 07:45 EST, 12 August 2015 | Updated: 14:49 EST, 12 August 2015

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A Pennsylvania beauty pageant queen is facing prison time after lying about suffering from cancer and allegedly pocketing money raised to pay for her fake treatments.

Brandi Lee Weaver-Gates, 23, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, led her local community to believe that she had been diagnosed with a form of leukemia in 2013.

Since then, she has been the benefactor for several fundraisers, the most recent of which was a bingo event held earlier this year raising $14,000.

Liar: Brandi Lee Weaver-Gates, 23, told her family and friends that she had been diagnosed with cancer and allegedly pocketed money raised to help her pay for her treatment

In custody: The image on the left shows Weaver-Gates in her newly released booking photo. The image on the right shows her in her pageant crown and sash visiting relatives' grave site in June

Elaborate ruse: Police say the 23-year-old suspected con artist (center) repeatedly shaved her head to make it appear as if she had undergone chemotherapy. In this image she is also wearing a face mask

Ms Weaver-Gates, a student at Penn State, first told friends and family that she had been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in March two years ago, CNN reported.

'I didn't know how to tell my family and even though they were there through it all, it still feels like (you're) battling it alone because they don't understand,' she told the Centre County Gazette in an interview last year.

She would have relatives, including her own sister, drive her to leading cancer hospitals for treatments and have them wait for her in the lobby for up to eight hours while she hid elsewhere.

Over the years, Ms Weaver-Gates took part in a number of charity events to raise money for her treatment, allegedly pocketing the cash herself.

Weaver-Gates, who was crowned Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International this past April, also repeatedly shaved her head to make it appear as if she had undergone chemotherapy, local media reports.

After receiving an anonymous tip earlier this year, police began investigating Ms Weaver-Gates' cancer claims and found no evidence that she had ever been treated by any medical facility for the illness.

State Police Trooper Thomas Stock contacted Geisinger, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and John Hopkins in Baltimore - all places Weaver-Gates said she was treated for her cancer - but there was no mention of the 23-year-old anywhere in the hospitals' records.

Stock called her efforts to make people believe she had cancer 'an elaborate scheme'.

The investigator added that the author of the anonymous letter alleging fraud on the beauty queen's part said when pressed, the 23-year-old patient could not name any of her doctors.

Beauty queen faked cancer to pocket money for 'treatments'

Arrested: Ms Weaver-Gates has been charged with theft by deception and receiving stolen property

Disgraced: Pageant organizers have revoked Weaver-Gates' Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International title

Reigning queen: The Penn State grad (far left) won the Miss Pennsylvania International crown in April 2015

The jig is up: Police got an anonymous letter earlier this year claiming Weaver-Gates (left) could not name any of her oncology doctors

Ms Weaver-Gates was arrested Tuesday and has been charged with theft by deception and receiving stolen property. She is being held on $150,000 bond pending her next court appearance scheduled for next week, reported NBC News.

Miss Pennsylvania pageant organizers have said they have revoked her crown.

In a statement Tuesday, the organization said, 'Effectively immediately, Ms. Weaver-Gates is no longer a representative of the Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International organization and will be required to return her crown and sash upon her release from being detained.'