Belle Gibson's fake cancer claims 'made her over $500,000'
Court documents reveal disgraced health blogger Belle Gibson made over $500,000 off her products generated on a fake story that she was diagnosed with cancer and survived off alternative remedies.
A court found Gibson engaged in "unconscionable conduct" when she claimed she was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009, given four months to live and survived after rejecting conventional treatments to heal herself naturally.
Belle Gibson previously said she did not expect to face legal action of the scandal. Photo: Supplied
Legal action imminent against disgraced cancer blogger Belle Gibson
Doubt cast over health and wellness advocate Belle Gibson's cancer claims
Gibson made $578,005 through sales of her app The Whole Pantry, a book with the same name as well as a deal with Apple Watch, a court heard on Friday.
Victoria's consumer affairs regulator now wants Gibson to take out a newspaper ad apologising for lying about curing her terminal cancer naturally and to pay a fine, which may possibly be more than a million dollars.
The watchdog also said she engaged in misleading or deceptive commerce by making these claims to promote her app and book.
This deceptive commerce was repeated when Gibson said she would donate a portion of her app's revenue to charities or other humanitarian causes.
This included the Birthing Kit Foundation, One Girl, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, and the family of a seven-year-old boy who is battling terminal brain cancer.
Gibson is said to have conducted misleading commerce before Mother's Day 2014 by telling purchasers of her app the full amount of that sale, and an additional $1 for family-themed social media posts, would be donated to not-for-profit 2h Project, and the Bumi Sehat Foundation.
The cancer con's company said that between 2014 and 2015 a portion of the proceeds of app sales would be donated to charities.
But Consumer Affairs claims the Bumi Sehat Foundation was the only charity to receive $5000 and the money was only received after the watchdogs contacted her in regard to their investigation.
Gibson received more than $500,000 for her app and book
Belle Gibson made $578,005 for claiming she was diagnosed with cancer and survived off alternative remedies. Photo: Instagram
The Whole Pantry app was available for purchase between August 2013 and May 2016, court documents show.
By March 2015, it had been downloaded 115,324 times from iTunes.
Gibson received $20,725 from Apple, while her company Inkerman Road Nominees - formerly known as Belle Gibson Pty Ltd - was paid $264,881.
It's believed Gibson and her company also received $28,452 from sales of the android version of Whole Pantry.
The consumer regulator say Gibson's company was paid $263,947 by publisher Penguin for her The Whole Pantry book, released in October 2014 and withdrawn from sale five months later.
Penguin had signed a contract with Gibson in late 2013.
A hearing has been set down for June 10.
