Aurora mom pleads guilty in charity fraud scheme, faked son’s cancer

An Aurora mother accused of faking her son’s cancer and collecting thousands of dollars in donations pleaded guilty on Friday to two charges in the case.

Sandy Thi Nguyen, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of charitable fraud and one count of child abuse, according to a news release from the district attorney’s office.

She convinced her son that his cancer was real and he believed he was going to die, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The boy “said his mother shaves his head every morning before school,” the court document said.

Authorities said the boy has asthma but is otherwise healthy.

Nguyen “stated that she led people to believe that (her son) did have cancer, and knew that the Rolling Hills Elementary School community was raising money to assist her family financially,” the affidavit said.

“Sandy said she did not ask for any help, but did not turn away help either,” the document said.

Arapahoe County sheriff’s investigators executed a search warrant at Nguyen’s home, recovering about $23,000 in March. Nguyen allegedly admitted some of the cash was from the cancer funds.

Nguyen is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 25.