New Netflix drama Apple Cider Vinegar is based on the true story of influencer scammer Belle Gibson, who faked having inoperable brain cancer .

The upcoming series stars Dopesick's Kaitlyn Dever as the the con-artist, who launches a media empire while claiming that she's been able to cure her illnesses through health and wellness.

Ahead of the show's release on February 6, DailyMail.com lays bare the shocking true story of Gibson's rise and fall.

It all began in 2009 when former social media star Gibson, 33, claimed she had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer at the age of 20 and given just months to live.

In early 2013, Gibson would go on to launch an Instagram account (@healing_belle) and accompanying website sharing healthy, wholefood recipes.

She maintained that her lifestyle and healthy eating plan had 'cured' her of the disease, adding that she had undergone traditional treatments including chemotherapy and radiotherapy before abandoning modern medicine to follow a program of clean eating instead.

It wasn't long before deals started to roll in, with Gibson launching an app full of recipes, The Whole Pantry, as well as a book deal, reportedly worth £213,500 ($260,727).

Describing her plant-based diet in her book, she said: 'I was empowering myself to save my own life through nutrition, patience, determination, and love.'

But in 2014, the Melbourne-based personality claimed that despite her new wellness-focused lifestyle, her cancer had returned, and this time it had spread.

While many fans were devastated by the news, suspicions were soon raised about the money she claimed to have donated to various charities from the proceeds of her book.

Following an investigation by Fairfax Media, it was discovered that none of the charities Gibson had named had received any money from her.

The influencer's story quickly began to unravel and in April 2015, she was forced to admit she had lied.

In an interview with Australia Women's Weekly, she confessed: 'No… None of it's true.'

She also added that she hoped people would forgive her and see that she was only 'human.'

In the 2017 federal court case, Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria v Gibson, a judge declared that Belle 'engaged in conduct in trade or commerce which was misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive,' citing her claims that she was diagnosed with brain cancer, was given four months to live, and had rejected conventional cancer treatment.

They also deemed that she had engaged in 'unconscionable conduct in trade or commerce which was misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive.'

Gibson was fined around £215,000 ($262,600).

Gibson's stepfather, Andrew Dal-Ballo, offered a partial defense of her years of deceit.

He said: 'I've come to realize that Belle is a pretty sad and depressed person.

'There are no winners here, it's hurt a lot of people, and I feel it's ruined the rest of Belle's life also.'

However, Gibson's supposed fragile mental health is not enough for many of those affected by the case.

Her former friend, Channelle McAuliffe, said: 'She's still living her life, and there haven't been really any repercussions or consequences served on Belle.'

After her lies came to light in 2015, Gibson made another bizarre move, and joined a group representing the Oromo people of Ethiopia , and even started speaking in broken English.

Journalist Richard Guilliatt revealed the community later learned of Gibson's past, saying: 'She's been going to meetings and calling herself Sabontu and speaking in broken Ethiopian dialect.

'They were shocked to find out who she is, and she ends up being rejected by that community.'

In late 2019, a bizarre, 11-minute interview filmed by a community group showed Gibson being addressed by the traditional name 'Sabontu.'

The fraudster wore a headscarf and said she was 'blessed' to be part of the Oromo community in Melbourne, thanking the 'Lord' as well as 'Allah.'

But the president of a major group for the Oromo diaspora in Victoria told Daily Mail Australia in 2020 that Gibson was not a registered volunteer.

On 22 January 2020, the Sheriff's Office of Victoria raided Gibson's home in Northcote and seized items to recoup her unpaid fines, which, due to interest and costs, exceeded half a million dollars.

Her home was raided again on 21 May 2021 in another attempt to recoup her unpaid fines.

Gibson's scams were previously put under the spotlight in the ITV1 documentary Instagram's Worst Con Artist, which aired in 2021.

Bad Influencer: The Great Insta Con also aired in the UK that same year.