Why did Belle Gibson not go to prison? Details about The Search for Instagram’s Worst Con Artist subject, explored

Australian influencer, Belle Gibson, who once made headlines for her lifestyle and her diagnosis is now being exposed as a fraud. Her story has been explored in the Netflix documentary series, Instagram's Worst Con Artist. Gibson rose to fame in 2013 as a health and food blogger with the claims that she battled terminal brain cancer as a young single mother only through diet and lifestyle changes. She inspired a huge following on Instagram for her methods.

However, investigations by journalists soon revealed a shocking truth, Gibson never had cancer. She had defrauded her followers, tricking them into buying her books and subscribing to her app, and earned money through them. However, she didn't face any prison sentence and instead has been asked to pay her mounting fines.

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Why did Belle Gibson not go to prison? All about her case explored

Belle Gibson was born in Launceston, Tasmania and she gained fame as a health blogger in 2013 when she shared her journey with terminal brain cancer and how she got better. Gibson advocated for a plant-based diet and alternative therapies over conventional cancer treatment claiming that she was able to cure stage 4 terminal brain cancer that way.

She even launched an app, The Whole Pantry, which had 200,000 downloads in one month from the Apple store in 2013, and a cookbook detailing the same, which earned her substantial profits, which she claimed to donate to charity to the cause of helping children with cancer.

However, Belle Gibson's lies and deception were exposed in 2015 when she admitted that she lied about her diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, it was found that only 2% of the total profits were donated and Gibson was found guilty of having breached consumer law.

She did not face any prison sentence for this but the court ordered her to come up with the remaining funds and barred her from making any more content on health and lifestyle as it would be misleading. Australia’s federal court fined her 410,000 Australian dollars in 2017, which is the money she had raised for charity but failed to donate.

But Gibson was not able to come up with the funds and wrote a letter to the court claiming that she was in debt. Her home was raided twice for unpaid fines in 2020 and 2021, and she even owed money for her son's school fees and had also borrowed 47,000 Pounds from a housemate.

Despite her claims of being in debt, she spent extravagantly on a court appearance and a holiday and immersed herself in Melbourne's Ethiopian community claiming that she would take part in adoption and fundraising efforts. But she was ousted by the members and since then kept a low profile.

Moreover, Belle Gibson’s book publisher was also fined 30,000 Australian dollars ($19,000 US) in the civil case for failing to fact-check her claims. According to authorities Gibson is still being pursued for her unpaid fines, which have been due for seven years now.

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About The Search for Instagram’s Worst Con Artist

The Search for Instagram’s Worst Con Artist is a two-part documentary series on Netflix that details the inside story of Belle Gibson, a 21-year-old social media influencer who duped her followers of millions by making false claims about curing cancer with diet changes.

The documentary explores Gibson's fabricated story, her claims about doing charity, and also her popular app and cookbook, from which she made money. Her story is being retlold on another docu-series on Netflix, Apple Cider Vinegar.

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Catch the full story of Belle Gibson on Netflix.