Last modified: Friday, June 16, 2006 2:12 AM EDT EX-D-R teacher sentenced in fraud BY DAVID LINTON / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF NEW BEDFORD -- For more than two years, Heather Faria faked having a rare form of stomach cancer and used $37,000 in fundraising donations to buy jewelry, clothes and go on exotic trips. On Thursday, the former Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School special education teacher was sent to jail for two years for lying to friends and co-workers and spending the money they raised on her behalf. New Bedford Superior Court Judge Richard Chin, whose sentence was tougher than those called for in state guidelines, also placed Faria, 28, on probation for 10 years after she completes her sentence. She also must pay $37,000 in restitution. `` The most disturbing part to me was that this involved many of the defendant's students, this involved the school and the entire community,'' Chin said. Faria, who listened to former friends and a colleague tearfully tell the judge how the scam affected them and a close community of givers, remained stoic throughout the testimony and displayed no visible emotion as she was led away in handcuffs by court officers. Faria, who had no prior criminal record, pleaded guilty April 12 to larceny and gross fraud. She said in a statement released a day later that she faked having cancer to gain the attention of her biological father. After listening to former friends and a colleague say they found her statement unconvincing and insincere, she offered no apology or explanation in court Thursday. `` Heather Faria has contaminated friends, family and an entire community with her toxic personality,'' said Heather Sargent, the friend whom Faria first told she had cancer in 2003. Sargent and the others who spoke told Chin that Faria could have stopped taking money people raised for her, but instead chose to continue her scam until it was uncovered last year. After she was caught, they said, Faria never apologized, paid any money back, and she blamed others for her actions. The victims who spoke either had had cancer or knew someone who did, which compounded the sense of betrayal, they said. `` She knew exactly what she was doing to all of us, and it's extremely hard to get over,'' said Sheryl Marshall, a former friend who made Faria a bridesmaid at her wedding. Marshall said the jail sentence was appropriate, but added that `` seeing a former friend taken away in handcuffs is not fun to watch.'' A former colleague, Ted Hahn, a math teacher at D-R, said he had suffered from skin cancer, and organized a charity dinner for Faria, which was attended by about 200 people. Hahn said the extent of the fraud may never be known because many people gave Faria cash or gas cards valued at up to $100 to pay for trips to Boston which they believed Faria was obtaining cancer treatments. `` We all did the right thing even though it was for the wrong person,'' Hahn said. Hahn asked the judge to impose a tougher sentence, but afterwards said he was pleased with the sentence because Faria would have to serve 10 years on probation and pay restitution. Friends hosted several fundraisers for Faria, including a 50-mile relay race that raised $9,000, after she said she was having trouble choosing between paying for food or expensive treatments. Most of the money Faria must pay back will go to individuals who the district attorney's office will determine were victimized by the scam. About $10,000 will go to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in an agreement between the prosecution and Faria's lawyer, Frank O'Boy of Taunton. Faria also was ordered to return a Shamrock quilt and a Boston Red Sox wall poster signed by members of the 2003 team, which reached the American League Championship Series. Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne, who prosecuted the case, said the scam has wounded the charitable spirit of the victims by creating `` a chilling effect in their desire or readiness to give.'' Referring to a statement Faria released in April in which she said the scam snowballed out of control, Gagne said, `` it snowballed because she was the one pushing the snowball down the hill.'' O'Boy told the judge his client was raised in `` humble circumstances,'' and became an All-American athlete at Merrimack College before teaching at D-R. `` Heather Faria certainly feels she did a harmful act and betrayed the trust of her friends,'' O'Boy said, adding that she accepted responsibility last October when she was charged. He said his client never communicated with any of the victims of the scam because he warned her against doing so while her case was pending. O'Boy said many people who donated money wrote letters of support, saying jail was not an appropriate punishment. He asked the judge to impose a long term of probation. `` She has been publicly humiliated, and she should be for the acts she did,'' O'Boy said. DAVID LINTON can be reached at 508-236-0338 or at dlinton@thesunchronicle.com.