Canberra, Sep 28 (IANS): An Australian wellness blogger who falsely claimed to have cancer has been fined $322,000 for misleading her readers, the media reported on Thursday.
Belle Gibson, 25, gained fame in Australia after she claimed to have beaten brain cancer using natural remedies and nutrition, reports the BBC.
She launched a successful app and cookbook, but later admitted the diagnosis was made up.
Gibson was found guilty of five breaches of consumer law in March.
However, she did not attend the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne on Thursday to hear the penalty handed down.
Gibson built a social media empire off claims that she had cured her cancer with Ayurvedic medicine, oxygen therapy and a gluten and refined sugar-free diet.