My sister set up a GoFundMe claiming I was dying of cancer and pocketed twenty-five thousand dollars from our family and friends while I had no idea any of it was happening.

I found out three weeks ago when my aunt called me sobbing, asking how my "treatment" was going. I had no clue what she meant. She said she'd donated five hundred dollars to help with my medical bills and was that enough, did I need more. I told her I wasn't sick and she went quiet. Then she sent me the link.

The GoFundMe had my full name, my photo from last Christmas, and this whole story about how I'd been diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma and couldn't afford treatment. It said I was too proud to ask for help so my "loving sister" was doing it for me. There were updates too. Fake updates about how I was responding to chemo, how hard it was, how much the family's support meant. People I hadn't talked to in years had donated. My old coworkers. My grandfather sent a thousand dollars.

I screenshotted everything and called her immediately. She answered all chipper like nothing was wrong.

"Hey, what's up?"

"What the hell is this GoFundMe?"

She got defensive right away. "Oh my god, Aunt Linda told you? I was going to surprise you with the money."

"Surprise me? You told everyone I have cancer!"

"You've been looking really tired lately and you lost weight. I thought something might actually be wrong so it's not really lying."

I couldn't even respond to that. The logic was so twisted I didn't know where to start.

She kept going. "Plus I was going to give you some of it. Like half. I have credit card debt and you know how hard things have been since I lost my job."

"You stole from our family."

"It's not stealing if they gave it willingly! And you're being so ungrateful right now. I did this FOR you."

I hung up and immediately posted in the GoFundMe comments that it was a scam, that I wasn't sick, and that my sister had committed fraud. Then I called every family member I could think of and told them what happened. Most of them were horrified. A few actually tried to defend her saying maybe she had good intentions or was going through something. My mom cried and said I was tearing the family apart by "making this public."

My sister started blasting me on Facebook, saying I was vindictive and jealous of her and that she only made the GoFundMe because she was worried about me. She said everyone attacking her should be ashamed because she was just trying to help family. She posted the photos she'd used of me and circled my face, pointing out that I "clearly looked sick" in them. I was literally just squinting in the sun.

GoFundMe shut down the page after I reported it but they said they couldn't guarantee refunds since some time had passed and she'd already withdrawn the money. She'd taken everything. All twenty-five thousand dollars. My aunt threatened to sue her. My grandfather isn't speaking to her. Three cousins blocked her on everything.

Now she's telling anyone who'll listen that I ruined her reputation over a "misunderstanding" and that I should've just talked to her privately instead of humiliating her in front of everyone. She sent me a long text yesterday saying I'm a horrible sister and she'll never forgive me for destroying her relationships with people who "actually cared about her."

I filed a police report for fraud. The officer said it might be hard to prove criminal intent since she's claiming she meant to share the money with me, but they're investigating. I also told her she's not welcome at any family events I'm attending and if she shows up I'm leaving.

But now my mom keeps calling saying I'm being too harsh and that family should forgive family and maybe my sister really did think she was helping in some messed up way. A few relatives have stopped talking to me too, saying I should've handled it privately and not gotten the police involved. My sister posted a crying selfie saying she's getting death threats because of me.

I don't feel bad about reporting her but the family drama is exhausting and part of me wonders if I should've just demanded the money back quietly instead of scorching earth. Am I being an asshole for involving the police and making sure everyone knew what she did?

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