A former Brighton woman charged with accepting donations through a bogus online fundraising account has been bound over for trial.

33-year-old Candace Ann Streng appeared for a probable cause conference Tuesday, at which time a judge determined there was enough evidence to send her case to Livingston County Circuit Court. Streng is charged with False Pretenses of $20,000 or More, a 15 year felony and Use of a Computer to Commit a Crime, a 10 year felony.

The charges were the result of the Brighton Police Department’s investigation into allegations that Streng falsely claimed to have cancer and was collecting donations to help with her medical expenses. The department in January began looking into allegations of a fraudulent GoFundMe account called “Candace Kicks Cancer”, which had been set up for Streng.

Brighton Police previously said there was enough information from independent sources to strongly suggest the account was fraudulently used to accept donations based on Streng’s claim to have stage four breast cancer. GoFundMe records show 399 people donated money totaling $31,645 since April 15th, 2017. Several fundraisers were held for Streng over the past year with friends rallying by her side.

GoFundMe immediately closed the account, banned Streng, and worked with the Brighton Police Department to refund all the donors. Future court dates for Streng have not been set at this time. (JK/DK)