A Florida couple is facing child abuse charges after telling their 13-year-old son he had terminal brain cancer so they could make money off his donations. Their son is perfectly healthy.
According to Local10, Robert Long, 47, and Ginny Long, 34, lied to their son for eight months.
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The married couple was arrested Thursday in Fort Walton Beach, reports WEAR TV. They were charged with nine counts of fraud after they started a fundraiser at their son’s school.
According to the arrest report obtained by WEAR TV, Ginny Long told her son in May he had seven brain tumors. In November, they started a t-shirt fundraiser at his school, Meigs Middle School, and sold nine shirts. Investigators also discovered the GoFundMe page that logged $1,000 in donations.
The family also posted about the fake disease on Facebook. “It was a miracle the boy had lived three days past Christmas and the only person that knows when he is supposed to go is God,” Ginny Long reportedly wrote on Facebook on Dec. 28.
A school resource officer thought the boy was being used for financial gain and reported to authorities.
Investigators talked to the boy’s doctors, who confirmed he was perfectly healthy. The boy told investigators he was scared to talk about his condition, according to the arrest report.
The Longs have one other child. Both children were removed from the home and are in foster care during the investigation.
This is not the only case of GoFundMe being used as a scam. On Jan. 30, Michigan police told Brighton Patch they believe Candace Streng faked a story about being diagnosed with breast cancer and raised over $30,000.
Last week, an Ardsley, New York woman pleaded guilty to federal charges of running a $50,000 GoFundMe scam in 2015. She was charged with federal wire fraud.
Photo credit: Local10
