The Associated Press

URBANA, Ohio - A woman accused of shaving her 7-year-old daughter's head and giving her drugs to fake leukemia has prior convictions for theft and fraud and has lost custody of two daughters.

Police say Teresa Milbrandt collected more than $10,000 in donations by fooling the community, her husband, and their daughter, Hannah. The final amount will likely be far greater, police say.

Ms. Milbrandt was jailed four months 11 years ago, Champaign County court records show. She pleaded guilty and received probation on charges of stealing a credit card and receiving stolen property in 1989.

Two years later she was indicted on nine theft counts and a charge of passing bad checks. She was accused in the indictment of fraudulently obtaining welfare and food stamps worth $4,700.

When she pleaded guilty to the bad check count and one theft count, her probation from the earlier case was revoked. She served four months of an 18-month sentence before receiving probation.