American couple faked baby's birth, death to get donations - police

American couple faked baby's birth, death to get donations - police
Photo credit: Action News 4 / Screenshot.

An American couple have been charged after allegedly faking the birth and death of a child in order to rake in donations.

According to CNN and the Associated Press, Kaycee and Geoffrey Lang, who live near Pittsburgh, claimed they had a child at a local hospital on July 3 who died hours later from Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Photos of the baby were posted on the pair's Facebook pages, however, the child appeared to look like a baby doll.

Cynthia Dilascio, who had held a baby shower for the couple, alleged to police they had faked everything. Dilascio believed Kaycee had never fully appeared to look pregnant and also rang the funeral home the baby was supposedly cremated at to find a cremation never happened.

At the baby shower, the couple had collected money and gifts from friends and family while a GoFundMe page was created which had originally announced the baby's death. According to CNN, more than NZ$700 was raised by the pair.

"It's not even about the money, it's more about the emotional part that she actually did this to her family and to me and the people who were there for her, who cared," Dilascio said.

"She does this stuff, there's people who can't have a baby or who have lost a kid, and she does this. It's sick...You have to be sick to do this."

Authorities haven't been able to find records of the child and when they searched the couple's house, found a baby doll and an urn.

The couple have been charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, theft by deception, and receiving stolen property.

They have not yet pleaded, according to CNN.

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