The Española woman who allegedly misrepresented her daughter as a cancer patient in order to collect charitable donations appears to have forged a note from a doctor, according to a search warrant filed in state District Court.
At least $3,683 has been collected in a Century Bank account designated for the treatment of Tiffany Ortiz’s daughter Trysten Campos, according to the warrant. Los Alamos Police detectives are examining transactions on the account in the interest of identifying all victims of the alleged fraud, the court document states.
The investigation into Ortiz, 24, began when a school nurse at Aspen Elementary School in Los Alamos contacted Dr. Shelly Schoonover at Children’s Clinic at Los Alamos Medical Center to question the validity of a letter that appeared to be written by Schoonover and faxed to the school.
The letter stated that Campos had been diagnosed with leukemia but the exact “strand” had not been diagnosed, so “she, (Dr. Schoonover) is taking all the necessary precautions to ensure that (Campos’) health and strength does not deteriorate prior to her testing in Denver, CO.”
The letter alerted school staff to notify a parent or guardian if Campos exhibited signs of leukemia, such as dark circles under her eyes and pain in her limbs.
The school nurse’s suspicions were raised because she knew leukemia has types, not strands, according to the warrant.
When confronted by Los Alamos Police Det. Shari Mills with the fact that the letter bore a different signature from Dr. Schoonover’s and was on different letterhead than the clinic’s, Ortiz said, “this letter was written because I couldn’t get ahold of Dr. Schoonover for it but I didn’t write this letter and I refuse to be brought up for it.”
A Paula Ortiz listed as Campos’ school emergency contact told Mills that Schoonover was “a bold face liar” to say she didn’t make the diagnosis, the document states. Reached by phone Monday, Paula Ortiz told the SUN the family has no comment on the matter.
Among the fund-raising efforts on Campos’ behalf described in the warrant is a Sept. 6 and 7 softball tournament at Velarde Fields with a $175 entry fee per team.
A subpeona of Campos’ blood work showed all her results were within normal ranges, according to the warrant.
Tiffany Ortiz has not been charged or arrested yet for her alleged involvement in this fraud case.