A Colorado mother has been arrested after allegedly convincing her family and friends that her young son was dying of cancer and accepting more than $25,000 in public donations. (Via KMGH)
Police arrested 28-year-old Sandy Nguyen on felony charges of theft and criminal impersonation Thursday.
KCNC reports Nguyen allegedly convinced members of the community in Aurora that her 6-year-old son had cancer for more than a year. Students and teachers even helped out with donations at the little boy's elementary school. KMGH explains how far the reported lies went.
"It says that he had bone cancer and leukemia, receiving 317 days of chemo, seven days of radiation. It says that last summer the family was told he had just eight months to live. But two weeks later, she writes that he's cancer free. And then by August of last year, his cancer had come back."
Nguyen is even accused of making her own son believe the story. A longtime family friend, who donated money to Nguyen's son, told KUSA she's upset about what happened.
"And I got physically sick last night. I was so angry and upset. ... Not only did she scam us out of money and hurt us, but she hurt that boy."
On top of allegedly accepting donations from the school, KDVR reports Nguyen is accused of spending some of it on a family trip to Disney World.
When police arrived at Nguyen's home to arrest her Thursday, officers say they found $23,000 in cash inside the home. According to The Denver Post, Nguyen allegedly admitted some of that money came from the donations for her son.
Nguyen is currently being held in jail on a a $6,000 bail.
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