Believe in Magic

Believe in Magic was founded by 16-year-old Megan Bhari, who had been diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension three years previously. The organisation aimed to bring joy to terminally ill children. Her mother, Jean O'Brien,^[1] worked with her on the charity.^[2] The charity was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on January 20, 2012.^[3] In its first year, the charity received donations of £73,635. In 2013, it received £48,007, and in 2014 it received £32,783.^[4]

The charity rose to prominence after being supported by British-Irish boy band One Direction.^[5] The band repeatedly tweeted their support for the charity, wore bracelets onstage during their tours, and attended the charity's events.^[6] The band reportedly donated millions of pounds towards the charity,^[4] with band member Louis Tomlinson donating £2 million.^[7] In 2015, Tomlinson hosted the "Believe in Magic Cinderella Ball", a fundraising gala, at the Natural History Museum, London, attended by band member Liam Payne.^[1][8][9] The same year, Bhari received an award from then-Prime Minister David Cameron, who praised her for her courage.^[2] The charity received support from several celebrities, including Jessie J, Olly Murs, Pixie Lott, Little Mix, Professor Green, Fearne Cotton, and Michael Bublé.^[4]

The group was officially removed from the Charity Commission for England and Wales on August 17, 2020.^[10]

Despite its initial success and widespread acclaim, Believe in Magic became the subject of controversy. In 2015, O'Brien posted a JustGiving appeal on Facebook stating that Megan's condition had deteriorated, and they launched a fundraising campaign seeking £120,000 for emergency medical treatment in the United States. The target was reached within 48 hours; however, questions arose over the legitimacy of these claims. Jo Ashcroft, the mother of a child diagnosed with neuroblastoma, saw the appeal and became suspicious since it did not mention specific details, such as the hospital or doctor Bhari would be treated by.^[1][2]

A year later, another appeal was made by O'Brien asking for more donations. Ashcroft and a group of parents decided to investigate the matter themselves. Through computer hacking via an email embedded trojan, the group discovered their emails were being opened in a luxury resort at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. A private investigator they hired found no evidence of the pair having oxygen concentrators like they claimed. The group then started a Facebook group called "The Truth About Meg And Jean" where they shared their discoveries.^[1][2] In 2017, the Charity Commission for England and Wales launched a statutory inquiry into the organisation due to concerns about its administration and financial management. The investigation resulted in the charity's accounts being frozen.^[11] The investigation revealed that the trustees failed to comply with their reporting duties, did not cooperate with the inquiry, and mismanaged the charity's funds. Significant sums of money were withdrawn in cash or transferred to personal accounts without adequate records to justify these transactions. Over £100,000 was unaccounted for.^[2][3]

On March 28, 2018, Megan Bhari died at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at the age of 23, following which an inquest into her death took place. The inquest revealed that according to a forensic pathologist Bhari's brain had been "morphologically normal", and that there was no mention of a tumour. The inquest also found that there had been attempts by Bhari to obtain morphine using a forged prescription, and that she frequently missed medical appointments and changed doctors frequently. Her cause of death was revealed to be acute cardiac arrhythmia, an abnormality of the rhythm of the heart, due to her fatty liver disease. O'Brien would tell the BBC following this discovery that Bhari had pituitary microadenoma, a non-cancerous brain tumour which is not typically life-threatening.^[2] A BBC Sounds podcast also entitled Believe in Magic suggested Bhari had been a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a claim supported by academic Marc Feldman.^[1] Bhari's half-sister stated that she believed the illness was faked and charity started in order to meet with celebrities, particularly One Direction.^[2] In 2022, Kingston Council, where Bhari had been living, published a report concluding that despite no formal diagnosis of Fabricated or Induced illness (FII), the coroner's conclusion led all involved in the case to believe that it was likely a case of FII.^[2]

The incident was the subject of a seven-part podcast series named Believe in Magic by Jamie Bartlett on BBC Studios.^[12]