TIMMINS, Ont. - Another Ontario community is asking how someone could fake cancer for personal gain after a young woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to defrauding her workplace of thousands of dollars with fictitious tales of terminal illness.

Jessica Ann Leeder pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 at a court appearance that was intended to be a bail hearing, making her the second young Ontario woman within a week to admit to faking cancer and collecting donations.

The case has made waves in this northern Ontario city. Some people said they couldn't believe a local woman was charged in a cancer scam so soon after Ashley Kirilow of Burlington, Ont., pleaded guilty to a similar, but unrelated, ruse.

"It's unreal," said Gerry Workentin, whose husband has battled cancer. "How can people do things like this?"

Sporting short hair, a green hooded sweatshirt and pink plaid pyjama pants Leeder, 21, told the judge in a quiet voice that she understood what pleading guilty entails.

"It's giving up my right to a trial, saying that I take full responsibility for the charge," said Leeder, who was arrested on Friday.

No agreed statement of facts was read into the record Tuesday, but Leeder told the judge she had been made aware of the evidence against her.

Leeder, who has no prior criminal record, admitted that from February up until her arrest she defrauded Timberland Ford of more than $5,000.

Police said Leeder pretended to have lung and stomach cancer for close to a year, accepting support, including money, from the community.

A friend has said Leeder worked at the Ford car dealership in Timmins. Police said a large part of the investigation was linked to Leeder's place of work.

Crown attorney Rob Parsons said such a "comparatively quick" plea at only her second court appearance signals Leeder has owned up to her actions, which have "disturbed the public."

"It indicates at least some level of accepting responsibility on Ms. Leeder's part, some remorse," Parsons said outside court.

A conviction of fraud over $5,000 carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. Parsons couldn't say yet what sentence the Crown would be recommending, but he suggested Leeder won't be facing significant jail time.

In the other case, Kirilow pleaded guilty last Tuesday to fraud over $5,000. The 23-year-old still faces six counts of fraud under $5,000, which each carry a maximum term of two years. The Crown said Kirilow's motivation was to attract attention.

Linda, a business owner in Timmins who declined to give her last name, said when she heard about Leeder she thought at first it must have been the same young woman as the cancer fraud in southern Ontario.

Leeder's fraud is an embarrassment for Timmins, Linda said, but she hopes it will make people more careful with their donations. At her business they only make donations to registered charities, she said.

"Especially in a small town, quite often you get approached to donate to small things that aren't organized to a high degree," she said.

"Sometimes you think if you make a direct donation then it's going to go directly to the family to help, but it looks like it's a bit of a higher risk now."

Workentin, who volunteers at the Canadian Cancer Society, said she thinks hearing about Leeder and Kirilow could make people hesitate before donating to cancer causes, but she hopes they realize these are isolated cases.

"I was really very upset about it," she said. "It's hard to understand. I feel for her, I really do, but I think there would have been a better way to (get money)."

At least one expert says people who fake a terminal illness to swindle money out of charitable people and bask in the attention of sympathizers might have a medical condition driving that behaviour.

Dr. Jose Mejia, the head of the forensic psychiatry division at the University of Western Ontario, said there are clinical cases in which people fake diseases for personal gain -- known as malingering.

And it's not always about money.

"Sometimes it's also to be exempted from punishment when they have committed a criminal offence, or sometimes it might be other types of benefits," Mejia said.

"The person is conscious and completely aware that they suffer no (physical illness)."

Leeder was released from custody on her own recognizance until her next court date, but must pay $750 if she violates any conditions of her release, including staying away from Timberland Ford and reporting to police every Friday.

She is scheduled to be back in court Dec. 21 for a sentencing hearing.