RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. — Members of the Smokin Souls Motorcycle Riding Club say they've helped put together about 30 or so benefits over the past few years. The next on their list was for 21-year-old Hannah Hume.
"I didn’t question it because I thought she really had it," explains Big Dawg, the group's founder. "She said she had kidney cancer."
The club had everything booked and passed out hundreds of flyers throughout the Triad. But last week, Big Dawg got a call from one of Hume's friends saying she was faking it.
"I contacted her, told her that she needed to bring me proof that she had cancer or I was going to go to the Sheriff’s Department," he explained.
When she couldn't back it up, Big Dawg kept his promise. After investigating, Randolph County deputies charged Hume with Felony Attempting to Obtain Property by False Pretense. Court documents say she knowingly tried to defraud the motorcycle club and lied about having cancer to get money.
Big Dawg said he went down to the Sheriff's Office to talk with Hume in person.
"I walked in and she started crying and I said 'Look, before this goes any further, I just want to ask you a question. Do you have cancer?' and she said 'No, I don’t,' and I said 'That’s pretty sad you took advantage of my club like that.'"
The group says what made Hume more believable was that she actually did have cancer a few years ago.
WFMY News 2 tried to get a hold of Hannah Hume for a comment, but instead talked with her sister over the phone. Her sister confirmed Hume suffered from ovarian cancer and beat it. The claim to have kidney cancer wasn't true.
"She had everybody fooled," Big Dawg says. "That’s the sad thing."
The club members that talked with WFMY News 2 all said they have family members who have died from or are fight cancer.
"I don’t understand why people want to fake something like that."
But the club found a way to turn a negative into a positive. Because the benefit was already booked, they decided to still hold it and give the proceeds to someone they know for sure has cancer. They picked Jeff Vaughn, of Randleman.
"It would help pay some medical bills, that’s for sure because there’s been quite a few," Vaughn says.
What he says he thought was a hernia, turned out to be stage 3 colon cancer.
"Most of January I spent 20-something days in the hospital," he tells. "It's not been easy."
But it was an easy choice for the Smokin Souls Motorcycle Riding Club to pick Vaughn. They're still working with all their donors and the Dirty Deeds Motorcycle Club to still put the new benefit on for June 15th.
"We’re having to go back and pick up all the flyers and explain to people what’s going on," Big Dawg says. "Cancer is a very big thing and people want to help people, but when you have people like her take advantage of you, my next thing I’ll be making sure I 100% know they have cancer."
Hannah Hume is due back in Randolph County Court May 13th.