A high-profile children's charity was shut down in 2020, two years after its young founder died in mysterious circumstances. The truth behind the organisation, Believe in Magic, has now emerged, revealing a story of medical deception and celebrity obsession that fooled thousands, including pop stars and politicians.
Megan Bhari, then 20, and her mother Jean ran the charity, which granted wishes to seriously ill children. Megan claimed to have a brain tumour and Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, a build-up of pressure on the brain. The pair organised glitzy events, including a 'Cinderella Ball' attended by One Direction's Louis Tomlinson, who praised their work. In 2015, Megan received an award from then-Prime Minister David Cameron for her 'extraordinary courage'.
However, a group of concerned parents in the cancer community became suspicious. Jo Ashcroft, whose son had neuroblastoma, noted that Megan's fundraising appeals lacked specific details about doctors or hospitals. When Megan and Jean launched another appeal in 2016, claiming Megan needed emergency treatment in the US, the parents investigated. Using computer skills, they discovered the pair were opening emails from a luxury hotel at Disney World in Orlando, not a hospital.
Despite the deception, the charity had raised significant funds, including £120,000 in under 48 hours for Megan's supposed treatment. The parents' efforts to expose the scam were initially met with caution, as wrongly accusing someone of faking a brain tumour was considered unthinkable. But their persistence eventually revealed the truth, leading to the charity's closure and raising questions about how such a scam could have gone undetected for so long.
