Coco Berthmann Full Story: Here’s the Tea

Back in 2021 Michael and Lauryn Bosstick (the Dear Media founders), interviewed a human rights advocate named Coco Berthmann. She was big on social media, tugging at our heart strings with her harrowing story of surviving sex trafficking and battling stage 3 cancer.

Lauryn and the rest of the world were originally so moved by her message. Why? Because Coco Berthmann had (has?) such a passion for both protecting children from human trafficking and helping victims of sex crimes. However . . . (and this is a big however) not everything in Coco Berthmann’s self-professed biography is 100% true. Wanna know the Coco Bthermann full story? Don’t worry, we came to deliver—here’s the tea:

Coco Berthmann Full Story: How Things Began 

Coco Berthmann claims that as a young child growing up in Germany, she was sex trafficked for the first 15 years of her life by none other than her parents. When she turned 15 in 2009, she finally had enough. Berthmann told Michael and Lauryn that she took a few things from her childhood home and ran away. She remained in Germany, enduring two more years of abuse from a boyfriend before escaping again to the U.S. But, what did her parents do? Sent men to the United States to kill her. 

That wasn’t the only goal of the men sent after her, though. Her parents sent these men to essentially silence her, making sure she didn’t tell the world what she endured for the first 15 years of her life. This didn’t stop her though—Coco set off to Utah, where her faith in a better life started becoming a reality.

Coco Berthmann Full Story: The Slow Rise to a Better Life

Coco wasn’t letting her story end here. Little did she know that in due time, she would become internet famous by sharing her rise from the ashes. With the help of reeking refuge through organizations, she healed from her dark past and decided to help the world. Coco started by sharing her story of survival, getting a law degree, becoming a human rights advocate, and even starting a scholarship fund specifically for trafficking survivors. Coco Berthmann was, well, INSPIRATIONAL.

Then, as more people began learning about her trials and tribulations, Coco Berthmann became internet famous instantaneously. Like, she was everywhere on social media. She was on the Him & Her Podcast, and even had a TED x Talk produced by BYU. This girl really seemed like she pulled herself out of the worst of the worst and was finally living a life she deserved! 

Coco Berthmann Full Story: The Turn For the Worst

In January 2022, the Salt Lake City resident reported that she was fighting another impossible obstacle: Stage 3 Mantle Cell Lymphoma. (Seriously, how much can one person endure?). She told her followers she was seeing specialists in Alaska and Chicago in an attempt to fight this aggressive cancer. And, in private, she expressed serious financial concerns to her friends regarding the cost of treatment. It’s like Coco shared her cancer diagnosis and people sprung into action. Who wouldn’t want to help out a woman who has already gone through enough?

In response, a GoFundMe was created and over $10,000 was raised. However, this is when things got dicey . . . Coco Berthmann caught the attention of the police who questioned everything she’s said about her life. And the public? Nooottt to pleased, to say the least. As soon as the police got involved, people began to doubt the legitimacy of her claims. But, there’s no way this could all be one big elaborate lie… right?

Why Was Coco Berthmann Arrested?

In 2022, Coco was arrested. And her charges? Communications fraud, which if you don’t know, is a second-degree felony. She wasn’t just arrested for raising money, the police wanted to know more about this cancer diagnosis… a lot more.

Police were obviously tipped off and when they started to investigate, the fake cancer diagnosis seemed super obvious. They did ask for proof and an interview, but Berthmann gave the names of her Chicago and Alaska doctors and said she was too weak to come in. When police investigated the doctors, one said they’d never treated her. And the other? He said he was helping her with PTSD, not cancer. Whoops. 

The allegation is that this fake cancer diagnosis was all about cashing in and making a profit. Which, according to police, is basically what happened. Coco allegedly took the money for a fake cancer diagnosis, cashed out her GoFundMe profit, and spent it all on personal use. Of course, this brings into question EVERYTHING Coco Berthmann has ever said. Seriously, what the heck is true and what is a lie? How are we supposed to feel knowing she helped so many women . . . but also knowing she scammed thousands? We’re all confused. 

Coco Bethmann Update

So… where is she now? Coco Berthmann became internet famous expecting her life to change, which it did, but it surely wasn’t for the better. Here’s the latest tea of what’s going on with Coco.

In 2023, Coco entered a plea of abeyance—this basically means she admitted to fraud for raising the money without a true cancer diagnosis. Instead of having to serve years in jail, she was required to serve a year of probation, make restitution payments, and undergo weekly check-ins. Oh, and of course, make sure not to commit anymore crimes. She currently remains under supervision in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is scheduled for a probation review hearing in July of 2025.

As much as we want to give you every single nitty-gritty, juicy detail in this post, we’ve got just the thing for you to tune into. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sara Ganim and Edward R. Murrow award-winning showrunner Karen Given investigate in Dear Media’s first true crime podcast called Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story. It breaks down the entire story from beginning to end and gives you all the deets on this CRAZY scamfluencer drama. You’ll find the true story is even more captivating than the lie. 

Coco Berthman’s story is inspirational and controversial—and you need to hear it all.

Alright, Dear Media fans, tune into Believable: The Coco Berthmann Story now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts to hear about a story where faith and fame intertwined. As heartbreaking as the truth is, we (like the rest of the world) are just grateful the truth finally came out.

Want more true crime goodness? We have just the thing. Check out Binge-Worthy Podcasts Like Serial and Podcasts Like Radio Rental! Oh, and you can’t miss out on our series Bone, Marry, Bury—it’s a fictional crime tale that’ll have you binging every episode. If true crime isn’t totally your thing, don’t worry, we aren’t leaving you out. Check out these Podcasts Like Call Her Daddy for more light-hearted influencer-inspired drama.

Seriously, at Dear Media we have something for EVERYONE! Everything from the latest updates to relationship advice to health and wellness tips—we weren’t kidding. Also, browse the list of shows, pick your fave, and check out the DM shop for plenty of must-have pieces. Like this “Justice is SURVed” sweatshirt? Totally fits the vibe. Enjoy binging Believe: The Coco Berthmann Story—it’s truly a wild ride through-and-through.