Australian health and wellness blogger Belle Gibson has been found guilty of misleading the public by a federal court judge. The ruling comes after Consumer Affairs Victoria filed a case against Gibson in May 2016 for her false claims of having cancer and being cured by alternative remedies, according to the South China Morning Post.
Gibson earlier claimed that she had cancer that was cured by alternative remedies. One of these remedies is a diet that is free of refined sugar and gluten. Based on her experience, she came up with a cookbook and a smartphone app called The Whole Pantry, which she launched in 2013. Both the cookbook and the app became widely popular.
The Unraveling Of Belle Gibson
In late 2014, Gibson was about to make it big with a partnership with Apple to include the app in Apple Watch when it launches the next year. The Whole Pantry app was even included in early marketing collateral for the Apple Watch.
By March 2015, close friends of Gibson began to question her earlier claims of cancer through social media. This happened after she failed to turn over around AUD$ 300,000 she previously promised to charities. According to Sydney Morning Herald, she admitted to friends that “her diagnosis was questionable.”
According to SCMP, she later admitted to an Australian magazine that she made the whole thing up.
The Case Against Bell Gibson
In May 2016, Consumer Affairs Victoria filed a case against Gibson and her company, Inkerman Road Nominees for knowingly misleading the public about her alleged disease and her alleged charitable contributions.
Justice Debra Mortimer who passed the ruling said that she “deliberately played on the genuine desire of members of the Australian community to help those less fortunate.”
Gibson and her company face fines from AUD$ 220,000 up to AUD$ 1.1 million, according to Australian consumer law.