Mother Accused of Making Up 5-Year-Old’s Illness to Collect Disability Checks

A Georgia mother was arrested Thursday for fabricating her five-year-old son’s illness to obtain disability checks, authorities said.

Investigators arrested Teresa Lynne Roth, 34, on Thursday after she spent nearly two years forcing her son to take 28 medications and medical treatments for nonexistent medical conditions, the Associated Press reported.

The five-year-old took multiple medications, had been confined to a wheelchair, and used a feeding tube even though he was not ill, deputies said.

“It’s messed up, you know? It’s not normal,” Lt. Scott Ware, with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, told WSB-TV.

The case began in 2016, when doctors at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta were treating the child, who was three years old at the time, for several medical conditions which investigators say were fabricated.

Health care workers then alerted the Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) and local authorities. DFCS removed the child from Roth’s home in October 2018, and authorities investigated Roth.

Authorities arrested Roth, who faces charges of first-degree child cruelty.

The child is now in the custody of DFCS, and his condition has reportedly improved since he was removed from the home.

Authorities investigating the case say there could be additional arrests as they probe further into the case.