Belle Gibson 'fundraised' for 5-year-old Joshua's terminal cancer. Here's what happened to the money.

Joshua Schwarz was a bright and bubbly boy with warm smiling eyes, hidden beneath his mop of curly brown hair.

At just five years old, his family's world crumbled forever when he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He was given just four months to live, dashing the life his parents had imagined for him.

"All those hopes and dreams we had for our son, since the moment we discovered we were pregnant, now fell at our feet in a huge, messy, emotional heap," his mum Penne said of his diagnosis.

The family were told no conventional methods could treat his advanced stage of illness. Incredibly, Joshua turned those four months into almost four years.

In 2013, the year Joshua was diagnosed, cancer fraudster Belle Gibson came across his family's story and struck up a friendship with Penne on social media.

Gibson claimed doctors also gave her a four-month prognosis after finding a brain tumour in 2009, leading her to turn to alternative therapies after conventional medicine let her down.

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Joshua's family welcomed Gibson into their lives, finding comfort in someone going through a similar situation. Penne told the Herald Sun she bonded with Gibson as they cried with each other. Their children also played together.

Gibson even listed Penne and Joshua as "my great friends" in the acknowledgements of her book, The Whole Pantry.

She described Joshua as "the second little man after my own heart" who shares an "unintimidated friendship with our 'brain bugs'".

But in 2015, that facade crumbled.

Investigative journalists from The Age, Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, were tipped off by Belle's friend Chanelle McAuliffe that Gibson's cancer was a ruse.

Finding it difficult to prove Gibson lied about her cancer without medical records, they instead broke the news that she had not given funds raised for charities to them. Alongside this, they published people's doubts about her cancer diagnosis.

Penne with her son Joshua. Image: Very Sick Kids.

Concerned for her friend, Penne reached out.

"I wanted to believe her story so much but when I messaged her to see if she was OK and ask her about the allegations she would reply but avoided giving any clear answers, or chose to completely avoid my questions," she told The Sun.

"I feel humiliated and betrayed. I thought she was an inspiration. I feel like I don't even know this person anymore."

The more she read media reports, the more Penne recognised the similarities between Joshua's story and Gibson's.

"We can't help but think, 'Did she use us to get in the mind of Joshua?' She'd always ask heaps of questions about Joshy's cancer and treatments. Was it to give her more credibility?"

After news broke of Gibson's deceit, online trolls came for Joshua's family, writing "the most horrendous things" on his medical journey Facebook page.

The family was blindsided by reports that Gibson had been claiming to raise money for Joshua through the sales of her health and wellness app, The Whole Pantry. They said they never knew about the fundraiser.

And even worse, they never received a cent.

Kaitlyn Dever as Belle Gibson in Netflix's Apple Cider Vinegar. Image: Netflix.

In 2015, Gibson admitted in two interviews — one with Women's Weekly and another with 60 Minutes — her cancer was a lie, but she largely backtracked in the second interview.

With the truth exposed, her story quickly unravelled.

Soon, The Whole Pantry, was removed from the App Store and Penguin Australia cancelled The Whole Pantry cookbook, stripping it from the shelves and scrapping its US launch.

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What happened to the money?

In May 2016, Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) launched a civil suit against Gibson's company in Federal Court, following allegations she breached Australian consumer law.

The Schwarz family weren't the only ones Gibson claimed to help. Gibson purported that a large part of everything she earned would be donated to charities or good causes, but that was not the case.

Of the $420,000 in earnings, less than $10,000 was donated, according to court documents.

Gibson claimed the proceeds of the sale of virtual tickets to her app launch would be donated to the Schwarz family and three other charities. However, only one group received a $1,000 donation a year later.

She also lied that 100 per cent of the proceeds of app sales for one month would be donated to Joshua's family. That never happened.

Belle Gibson was fined $410,000 for misleading conduct. Image: AAP.

In September 2017, Gibson was fined $410,000 for misleading conduct — $150,000 of which was for failing to donate promised funds to the Schwarz family. She was also ordered to pay $30,000 in legal costs.

"If there is one theme or pattern which emerges through her conduct, it is her relentless obsession with herself and what best serves her interests," Justice Debra Mortimer said.

Judge Mortimer described her lies about helping Joshua's family as the "most serious" contravention of the law.

"Ms Gibson expressly compared the terrible circumstances of young Joshua to her own, asserting she had the same kind of tumour as he did; a statement which was completely false," she said, per ABC.

As of 2025, Gibson is yet to pay her fines.

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What happened to Joshua?

Joshua passed away in January 2017, after an almost four-year battle with aggressive brain cancer.

He suffered a brain bleed and died "surrounded by an abundance of love and light".

"(H)is beautiful body just decided that it was time," his sister Jade said on a fundraiser. Little Joshua was happy and dancing just 15 minutes before it happened.

"Joshua was the most incredible little boy and everyone that ever encountered him will say the same," Jade said.

"His passion for life and his endless charms were so beautiful to witness for the past nine years. He was the type of person that everyone wanted to know."

Feature image: 60 Minutes, Very Sick Kids.