Mother accused of faking son's cancer for donations

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.

Police arrested 28-year-old Sandy Nguyen on felony charges of theft and criminal impersonation Thursday.

KCNC reports that Nguyen allegedly convinced members of the community in Aurora that her 6-year-old son had cancer for over a year. Students and teachers even helped out with donations at the little boy's elementary school.

Nguyen is even accused of making her own son believe the story. A longtime family friend, who helped donate money to Nguyen's son, told KUSA how upset she is about what happened.

"I got physically sick last night," she explained. "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 Disneyworld.

When police arrived at Nguyen's home to arrest her Thursday, officers say they found $23,000 in cash inside. 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.