FBI declines to prosecute in 'Kaycee' Internet hoax

Gifts reportedly sent to P.O. box don't warrant federal investigation

By RICK HATTERSLEY

Reporter/photographer
     More than a week after Debbie Swenson confessed to opening a Newton post office box while orchestrating an Internet hoax from her Peabody home, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday it would not prosecute the 40-year-old mother of two for mail fraud.      "We're not going to work it," said Jeff Lanza, a spokesman for the FBI in Kansas City. "The loss is just a few hundred dollars at best, and that does not meet our standards for a federal investigation."      Swenson, who for more than a year documented her teenage daughter's alleged sickness and death on the Internet, reportedly received dozens of gifts from fans of "Kaycee," whom Swenson described as a 19-year-old basketball star suffering from leukemia.      An informal online poll at Yahoo.com, the results of which could not be verified, included responses from at least three people who indicated they sent items valued at more than $25 and 15 people who indicated they sent gifts valued at less than $25.      At least one individual who took part in the survey said he mailed a cash gift of between $25 and $100 to Swenson's post office box, which was advertised on her Web site at LivingColors.com.      Swenson, who claimed "Kaycee" was a composite character who represented three individuals who lost their lives to cancer, said she mailed all the gifts she received to the "appropriate" families.      One woman devoted much time to finding an appropriate gift for "Kaycee."      "I mailed her a book and Beanies that I went through great lengths via an auction site to get," said Kanika Wade, who met "Kaycee" on the Web site CollegeClub.com in 1999.      Wade, who lives in South Carolina, said she talked to "Kaycee" on the phone and the Internet until news of the hoax broke a week ago.      Wade, who did not indicate whether she participated in the online poll, said she spent nearly $60 on the gifts she sent to Swenson.      For more than a year, Swenson documented on her Web page "Kaycee's" battle against leukemia, delving into various details of the teen-ager's struggle.      On May 14, Swenson claimed "Kaycee" finally succumbed to the disease.      The hoax began unraveling last week thanks to the efforts of amateur Internet sleuths. Swenson ended up posting an online apology.      Visibly upset Tuesday as she stood at the doorstep of her ranch-style Peabody home, she repeated earlier claims that she is apologetic for having mislead so many in the online community she visited frequently.      "I know I have hurt a lot of people," she said. "I didn't mean to hurt any one."       Swenson said her daughter did not pose as "Kaycee" while fielding telephone calls from unsuspecting admirers.      She also admitted Tuesday that the pictures of Julie Fullbright, her former Oklahoma neighbor whom Swenson claimed was "Kaycee," were posted without Fullbright's permission.      The "Kaycee" story has generated national attention for Peabody. On Tuesday, a reporter working for the New York Times was interviewing journalists and residents there. The Dallas Morning News also was looking into the story, which previously was reported by MSNBC, the San Jose Mercury News, the Associated Press and Fox News Channel.      Angry Internet readers who initially suspected Swenson of perpetrating the hoax deluged news organizations with faxes and e-mails after the Peabody Gazette-Bulletin, Hillsboro Star-Journal and Marion County Record were able to verify Swenson's identity and obtain an oral admission from her.      The three papers' Web sites recorded unusually brisk traffic last Wednesday, as other news organizations began picking up the story.