- Robert Long and Ginny Irovando, 47 and 34-years-old, had convinced their teen son that he was going to die for eight months and were arrested on Thursday
- The pair were charged with nine counts of fraud after investigators discovered they had launched a t-shirt fundraiser at Meigs Middle School
- Nine people were said to have purchased shirts from the couple, who lived in Fort Walton Beach
- A GoFundMe was also established on the boy’s behalf and raised over a $1,000
A couple in Florida have been charged with child abuse after they were found to have lied to their son, 13, by telling him he had terminal brain cancer so they could reap the benefits.
Robert Long and Ginny Irovando, 47 and 34-years-old, had convinced their teen son that he was going to die for eight months and were arrested on Thursday.
The pair were charged with nine counts of fraud after investigators discovered they had launched a t-shirt fundraiser at Meigs Middle School.
Nine people were said to have purchased shirts from the couple, who lived in Fort Walton Beach.
Robert Long and Ginny Irovando, 47 and 34-years-old, had convinced their teen son that he was going to die for eight months and were arrested on Thursday
On Facebook, the Longs had even posted updated cancer statuses of their son.
A GoFundMe was also established on the boy’s behalf and raised over a $1,000.
“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 allegedly posted to Facebook on December 28.
The boy shared with the Oklaloosa County Sheriff’s Office that his mother told him back in may that he would die from brain cancer.
She even went as far to say that he had seven brain tumors.
But a tip from a school resource officer at the boy’s school prompted authorities to begin their investigation in May.
The Department of Children and Families removed the child and another sibling from the home. A
Both are in foster care, according to a spokesperson from the agency who told WEAR-TV.