she deserves a lot of punishment for this fraud
The article says she was with relatives and they confirmed her story to the police. They need to be charged with filing a false police report and conspiracy as well. They need to be nailed with lots of media coverage to discourage copycat frauds.
Shouldn't the lawyer who was going to help her sue also be held responsible for a fraudulent suit?
Certainly if he/she was an ethical attorney (if there is such a person) they would have checked out the plaintiff's character so as not to file a false/fraudulent lawsuit. I'm sure no attorney would want to receive a windfall under false pretenses. /sarcasm>