When Michelle Elaine Astumian, who had been convicted of forging prescriptions and writing fraudulent checks, showed up for sentencing last week at a court in California's San Luis Obispo County, she brought along a note.
She said her doctor had signed a request that sentencing be delayed so that she should could get medical treatment.
Prosecutors quickly figured out, by calling the doctor, that the note was a fake.
Now, the 41-year-old Astumian, has been sentenced "to four years and eight months in state prison," the local Tribune reports.
The Tribune reported last week that when Astumian's ruse about the doctor's note was uncovered, "she then fell to the floor, prompting the judge to clear the courtroom for about 30 minutes. An ambulance arrived and took Astumian to a local hospital. ... 'I'm trying to approach her reaction with understandable skepticism,' Deputy District Attorney Dave Pomeroy said."
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