AURORA | A former Arapahoe County social worker admitted she faked having brain cancer to avoid prosecution for falsely accusing an Aurora City Council member of child abuse.
On Oct. 8, Robin Niceta pleaded guilty to charges of forgery, criminal impersonation, attempting to influence a public servant, tampering with physical evidence and two lesser misdemeanors of second-degree forgery.
Niceta was charged after calling in a bogus child-abuse tip about Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky to the Arapahoe County child services agency where Niceta worked. Jurinsky had previously criticized Niceta’s girlfriend, former Aurora police Chief Vanessa Wilson, on a talk radio show.
Investigators tracked the call back to Niceta after case workers looked into it and cleared the claims against Jurisnky.
As the case against Niceta was heading to court, her lawyers tried to delay the proceedings, eventually asking to evaluate her competency to stand trial, claiming she was suffering from glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Niceta’s lawyers provided prosecutors with images they claimed were scans of a brain tumor, along with medical reports signed by “C. Marquez M.D.” from New Mexico Oncology and a letter purportedly from the City of Hope cancer treatment center in California.
Investigations revealed that she forged the cancer documents and made up the name of the doctor, oncology center and treatment center. The investigation found that she forged websites and phone numbers for the establishments that all led back to her.
“This defendant went to great lengths to fake a terminal illness and fabricate records to avoid facing justice,” Chief Deputy DA Chris Gallo said in a news release. “The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office spent countless hours gathering evidence to unravel Niceta’s scam.”
In November 2023, Niceta was found guilty of attempting to influence a public servant and making a false child abuse report. She received a four-year sentence in the Department of Corrections.
“It’s absurd that a former social worker, entrusted to protect children, maliciously attempted to tear a family apart with false accusations,” District Attorney John Kellner said in the news release. “Her actions were spiteful, vindictive and wasted numerous county resources.”
Niceta is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 17, 2025 for faking the cancer diagnosis.
She deserves a hell of a lot worse.