A terminally ill end-of-life campaigner has been scammed by a bogus fund that she was duped into thinking was from one of the world’s richest men.
The name of billionaire Elon Musk (51), who owns Twitter and electric car giant Tesla and has an estimated €170 billion fortune, was corruptly used to con Multiple Sclerosis patient Kate Tobin (56) out of €600.
Former nun Kate’s previous campaigning in the Irish Mirror for the right to die due to MS was used by the cruel con artists to target her.
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She told the Irish Mirror: “I received an email last October from [a bogus entity called] the Elon Musk Financial Services Department.
“They said that my story had been read and I had been selected by Mr Musk to receive €5,000 per month for nine months to give me a better quality of life.
"I was asked for my bank account details and my date of birth and other details to confirm my identity. I did this.
“I received another email from them asking me for €100 to cover the cost of the transfer and the money would be returned to me.
“I received my invalidity benefit and, after cutting down on my groceries and fuel etc, I managed to send €65.
“They advised me that I would need to send more money.”
Kate also revealed that the scammers promised a laptop for a nephew as part of a computer course that he is doing in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
She said: “They claimed I only had to pay for the delivery. Between October and last month, this Elon Musk [scam] received over €600 from me.
“They sent nothing. I got into debt and my wonderful nephew got nothing.
“The annoying thing apart from being had is that I wanted to use the money to help others.”
Kate, from Clonroche in Co Wexford, was diagnosed with degenerative neurological condition MS in 2012.
She told the Irish Mirror in 2016 that her €193 weekly disability allowance was absorbed on medication and specially-adapted furniture.
She described life as “a daily struggle” at the time and said: “I was a hospice nurse and a cancer nurse so I know what the end of life is like.
“I decided that when my MS gets worse I want to die on my own terms.”
Since then, she has experienced a debilitating progression of her condition.
Kate said: “My disease has progressed. I have had surgery on both legs as I shattered bones in my right leg.
“Before the plaster cast was removed, I shattered my left tibia and fibula, requiring further surgery and more plaster cast.
“I have lost my own teeth as my body stopped absorbing vitamins and minerals, so my teeth fell out, and I had to have dental surgery to remove the roots.
“I had to wait two years for my gums to heal before I was fitted with my dentures, but as the muscles in my mouth continue to change, I can only wear them for short periods of time.
“In June of 2021, I lost my peripheral vision, so now I have tunnel vision and I can only see what is straight in front of me.”
Kate added: “I'm having a scan in a few weeks’ time to see if the tumour on my left saliva gland can be operated on.
“If removing the tumour will cause damage to the nerves and muscle, which I use to speak and eat, then I won't be having any surgery.
“I now also have very bad spasms all over my body. I take my oral medication, but it is no longer sufficient.
“I'm waiting for surgery to insert a baclofen pump into my spine and abdomen to hopefully bring the spasms under control.
“I'm now almost a recluse only leaving my house for medical purposes.”
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