In a West Virginia court on Monday, a former Mesquite, Texas, teacher was sentenced to six months in federal prison for misusing a government credit card in 2015. The court also presented evidence that he tricked students in believing he had cancer in January, while working at a Mesquite middle school.
The Dallas Morning News reports that former teacher’s aide, Kevin MaBone, 56, who worked at Wilkinson Middle School in Mesquite, told students and staff alike that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He told school staffers that he needed an extra $500 by January 24 to put towards surgery expenses. In turn, the school, including students and staff, organized an event called “Jeans Day,” where students paid $2 each, which allowed them to wear jeans to school for the day. Wilkinson Middle School generally has a dress code of khaki, navy, or black pants.
Kevin MaBone has been in federal custody in West Virginia since Jan. 24, when officials learned he had lied about having…
Posted by The Dallas Morning News on Monday, February 13, 2017
On January 19, the school gave MaBone $1,000 cash, raised from the jeans event. The following day, the entire school lined up and watched MaBone accept a $5,000 car, given to him by a donor. The car has since been returned to the generous donor. Furthermore, MaBone gave school officials permission to start a GoFundMe fundraiser on his behalf. It raised over $11,000. MaBone never saw any of the GoFundMe money, though. All of it was refunded to donors.
On January 23, MaBone told school officials that his cancer was miraculously gone. He claimed he still needed surgery, which officials found to be suspicious. They performed an Internet search for his name and discovered that MaBone was schedule for federal sentencing in February, stemming from the West Virginia incident, where he misused the government credit card while working for Job Corps.
When confronted, MaBone said kept up the act at first. He finally admitted he pulled the cancer scam so that no one would find out about his past.
“Further, he advised that he lied about cancer because he did not want anyone to find out about his past in West Virginia and his current charges,” the court document read.
Kevin MaBone, Texas Teacher's Aide, Fired After Allegedly Faking Prostate Cancer https://t.co/XnsBdJtLC7 pic.twitter.com/kSOlaeYIch
— teflon 1 (@teflon1) January 26, 2017
Mesquite police filed an arrest warrant and charged MaBone with theft. However, they’re unsure if they’ll pursue the case sine MaBone has already been shipped off to prison for credit card fraud charges.
MaBone was fired from his position at the middle school.
[Feature Photo: GoFundMe]
