Prosecutors say Plymouth woman staged cancer diagnosis and her own death to skip court

Prosecutors are accusing a Plymouth woman of faking a terminal cancer diagnosis — and even her own death — to dodge a series of court hearings, according to the Plymouth District Attorney’s office.

On Thursday, a grand jury indicted 44-year-old Shannon E. Wilson on charges including furnishing false identifying information, obstruction of justice, forgery, uttering a public record, and failing to appear after being released on bail.

Prosecutors say that between 2022 and 2023, while facing multiple criminal cases in district courts across Massachusetts, Wilson claimed she was dying of cancer, undergoing treatment, and had entered hospice, where she ultimately died.

The D.A. said it all began when, following a traffic stop, officers brought her to Hingham District Court for arraignment on Aug. 15, 2022.

Wilson’s defense counsel told the court that she was terminally ill and had a limited life expectancy. An acquaintance of Wilson posted $400 bail on her behalf, and the court released her with conditions. 

In the months that followed, Wilson failed to comply with the conditions of the release and to appear in court, the D.A.’s office said. When the state sought bail revocation, Wilson said she was in the hospital. The court denied revocation but instructed Wilson that medical issues did not excuse her failure to communicate or comply with court orders. 

On Sept. 12, 2022, Wilson appeared in Plymouth District on charges of shoplifting and driving with a suspended license, telling the court that she had terminal brain cancer, according to court documents and the D.A.

The D.A. said that in January 2023, her defense counsel presented a letter purportedly from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute indicating terminal illness and hospice care. Relying on those documents, the court dismissed the Plymouth case.

However, a subsequent police investigation found that Wilson was not a patient there. 

In May 2023, Wilson’s defense counsel received messages that Wilson died and later provided a screen-captured image of a death certificate. 

The D.A. said that even though her defense attorney never submitted a certified copy, the Hingham court dismissed the matter and waived all fees. The document listed terminal brain cancer as the cause of death, named a Rhode Island physician as certifier, and identified a Boston funeral home. 

Police determined the documents were false. 

The D.A. said that in August 2023, several weeks after her acquaintance recovered the $400 bail after being informed that Wilson died, she unexpectedly appeared and admitted to her false death. 

A month earlier, on Jul. 15, 2023, Massachusetts State Police in Wareham pulled her over for erratic driving. Wilson identified herself under an assumed name and claimed she was visiting from Ireland and that she was terminally ill. 

However, the D.A. said, she was found with items bearing her actual name and was placed under arrest. 

The Hingham District Court issued a warrant for her arrest on Oct. 11, 2023, according to court documents.

The D.A. said Wilson is being held and will be arraigned at a later date.

Boston.com did not immediately hear back from Wilson’s lawyers.

Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.