Ottawa –  – The shadowed and mixed past of the Canadian woman reported to have been captured earlier this week by Islamic militants while fighting with Kurdish militia is coming to light, and what’s being uncovered is a past of real life and exaggerated tales.

Gillian (Gill) Rosenberg, 31, dismissed stories that she had been captured via Facebook, stating she was safe. The National Post reports that based on previous run-ins with the law, including a case of fraud, anything Rosenberg says may not be wholly believable.

In May 2007, Rosenberg was profiled in an Israeli newspaper as a 23-year-old commercial airline pilot who had quit flying what she called “huge Boeing airplanes” for American Airlines to join the Home Front Command, a branch of the IDF.

While it was true that Rosenberg had joined the Home Front Command and joined a search and rescue unit, she never worked for American Airlines flying passenger airplanes or any aircraft. “She did not work at American,” the airline’s spokeswoman, Andrea Huguely, said.

After graduating from Maimonides Jewish High School in Vancouver in 2001, Rosenberg attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), but left BCIT in January 2006 without finishing her education.

In June 2006, Rosenberg went to Israel and joined the Home Front Command. She applied for an officer’s course for Mossad, but was rejected.

In July 2007, while on leave from the Home Front Command, Rosenberg said she needed money and joined a criminal organization that conned elderly Americans out of thousands of dollars. Victims were told they had won lottery prizes, and told to send money to various addresses in New York for “fees and taxes.” After being honorably discharged from the Home Front Command, the scam became her way of life. Rosenberg says she made about $20,000 to $30,000 a week.

Israeli authorities arrested Rosenberg and others in July 2009. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, more than $8 million had been stolen. She was extradited to New York and plead guilty to three counts of fraud. She was released in July of this year, and headed back to Israel in August.