California woman fakes cancer, forges notes to avoid prison

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Federal officials say a 38-year-old California woman sentenced to a year in prison for embezzlement managed to avoid being held behind bars for at least six months after submitting fake doctor notes to a federal judge claiming she had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, according to federal officials. Now Ashleigh Lynn Chavez is headed to prison for three times as long after a judge this week added 24 months to her initial, one-year prison sentence. Chavez’s attorney, Benjamin Kington, said in a sentencing memorandum that Chavez was “terrified” about being separated from her newborn son.