Mom Accused of Collecting Thousands in Donations After Daughter’s Phony Cancer Diagnosis

An Oklahoma woman has been arrested after allegedly convincing her daughter that she had cancer to scam well-wishers out of thousands of dollars, officials said.

Jamie Kaye Parker, 31, is accused of falsely claiming her daughter had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, beginning in 2016 when the little girl was 7, the Kansas City Star reported.

Parker allegedly began researching online after her child complained of a stomach ache and eventually told the girl she had cancer, even shaving the child’s head, authorities said.

“To put your daughter in that state of mind, that she has a disease that could kill her, that she may die in the future, in the very near future? I think that’s almost the ultimate child abuse,” Grady County Sheriff Jim Weir told KOCO.

Parker posted on social media about her daughter’s bogus battle with cancer and wrote about raising money and awareness about non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

“To all of our friends and family we will be participating in OKC Light the Night Walk October 20th to show support for [her daughter],” Parker wrote in 2017. “If anyone would like to participate or even donate to help find a cure for lymphoma message me."

Parker allegedly raised money and other items worth about $3,500, police said. Money was apparently collected in donation jars left at local businesses over the last two years, Weir told KOCO. 

Parker was charged with child abuse in a medical setting and accepting donations under false pretenses, both felonies, online records show. If convicted of child abuse, she faces up to life in prison. 

She was being held at the Grady County Law Enforcement Center on $10,000 bond.

Parker was previously convicted of a felony after admitting to stealing nearly $4,000 from the Bridge Creek Takedown Booster Club while serving as its treasurer, KPVI reported. 

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