A former city of Chattanooga employee received more than $79,000 in wages and benefits from the city as a result of her faking a battle with breast cancer.

Keele Maynor, 38, also received more than $13,000 in gifts and donations from fellow employees, said Stan Sewell, director of internal audit for the city.

“That’s most likely a very low number in terms of the amounts that occurred,” he said.

Ms. Maynor faces nine counts of fraud and theft after an investigation revealed she received thousands of dollars from local agencies and the city as a result of pretending to have breast cancer for five years.

She was arrested Thursday in Union City, Ga. It was unclear Friday whether she had been extradited to Hamilton County.

The indictment, filed in Hamilton County Criminal Court, names the Breast Cancer Network of Strength, the Helen DiStefano Fund, Memorial Hospital and New Salem Baptist Church as agencies deceived by Ms. Maynor.

As it has in the past, Memorial Hospital declined comment, citing privacy laws.

“Whenever there are compassionate efforts from the heart of an organization to assist people in need, it is unfortunate that there seem to be a few who will want to take advantage of that support,” said Memorial spokeswoman Karen Sloan in the e-mailed statement. “The Center for Cancer Support will continue our faith-based ministry to all those who need our compassionate care.”

The indictment also alleges that Ms. Maynor altered, made, completed, executed or authenticated a writing involving a home visit and a communication log for the Hospice of Chattanooga.

Chattanooga police and the city auditor’s office had been investigating Ms. Maynor since mid-December after she quit her job as an administrative assistant with the Department of Land Use Development.

In her resignation letter, Ms. Maynor said she had been “untruthful” with city employees. In an e-mail to her supervisor obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Ms. Maynor said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and was cleared after radiation in 2001. She said she started fabricating the story that she still had cancer in 2003 “and it has snowballed and finally came to a head,” according to the e-mail.

Ms. Maynor used more than 1,550 hours of fellow employees’ donated time to cope with the disease since August 2003.

Mr. Sewell said the only way to prevent fraud through the donated time program would be to eliminate it, but other controls could be put in place to make it more difficult to defraud people.

“You can never have a system in place that’s foolproof,” he said.

TIMELINE

* Dec. 12 — Keele Maynor resigns from her city job. In her resignation letter, Ms. Maynor said she had been “untruthful” with city employees. In an e-mail to her supervisor, Ms. Maynor said she had fabricated her battle with breast cancer since 2003.

* Dec. 15 — The city says it is investigating Ms. Maynor’s conduct. Other organizations begin investigating their experiences with her.

* Dec. 18 — The city says Ms. Maynor used more than 1,550 hours of fellow employees’ donated time to cope with the disease since August 2003. She was paid for those hours. Chattanooga police say they are in the early stages of investigating her conduct.

* Dec. 19 — Ms. Maynor’s personnel file reveals she was paid more than $10,000 for personal leave days donated to her by more than 20 employees over five years.

* Thursday — Ms. Maynor is arrested in Union City, Ga., after she is indicted on nine counts of theft and fraud.

Charges

Agencies and individuals named as victims in indictment:

* City of Chattanooga — using fraud, deception or false pretense to obtain or exercise control of property valued at more than $60,000

* Breast Cancer Network of Strength — unlawfully, knowingly and intentionally obtain services by deception and fraud to avoid payment for services valued at more than $10,000 and using fraud, deception or false pretense to obtain or exercise control of property valued at more than $500

* Helen DiStefano Fund — using fraud, deception or false pretense to obtain or exercise control of property valued at more than $1,000

* Memorial Hospital Center for Cancer Support — unlawfully, knowingly and intentionally obtain services by deception and fraud to avoid payment for services valued at more than $1,000

* Mary Kathryn Jones — using fraud, deception or false pretense to obtain or exercise control of property valued at more than $1,000

* New Salem Baptist Church — using fraud, deception or false pretense to obtain or exercise control of property valued at more than $500

* Red Bank High School Quarterback Moms Club — using fraud, deception or false pretense to obtain or exercise control of property valued at more than $500

SOURCE: Hamilton County Criminal Court indictment