A New Jersey mother told her friends, family and 9-year old son that her son had terminal cancer in order to make money, and now faces arrest.
35-year-old Susan Stillwaggon was charged on Thursday with theft by deception, forgery, endangering the welfare of a child and using a child to commit a criminal offense, according to ABC News.
After telling her son that he had stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Stillwaggon allegedly received over $3,500 through fundraising. Several events were held to raise money for her son who she claimed had cancer, raising thousands of dollars in fraud.
Stillwaggon is currently receiving psychiatric treatment and has not been arrested yet. Her mom, according to Huffington Post, commented on her daughter’s actions, saying, "I will just tell you that my daughter is sick, something snapped in her head, don’t know what, that’s why she is [in the hospital] so we can find out what’s wrong.”
"Stillwaggon led her son to believe that he suffered from the fatal illness," reported the Pennsauken, New Jersey (where Stillwaggon lives) Police Department. "Investigation confirmed that the boy does not suffer from any life-threatening illnesses."
Nevertheless, ABC News reports that the New Jersey Division of Children and Families have observed the son in search of signs of physical abuse, but none have been found. However, authorities continue to care for the boy.
Yale University professor of psychology Alan Kazdin reports that “we’re concerned about trauma. We're concerned about anxiety."
Stillwaggon is scheduled to appear in court starting May 2, 2013.
