You might remember the Hindi crime-comedy film, ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ where the prankster couple Rakesh and Vimmi played by Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji tricked people to loot large sums of money.
Well, seems like we found the real-life ‘Bunty and Babli’.
This fraudster couple from Pennsylvania, US allegedly faked their pregnancy to raise funds. And that is just the beginning!
The couple identified as Kaycee and Geoffrey Lang reportedly faked the birth of their baby in order to dupe their family and friends into giving them donations and gifts.
Their friends hosted a baby shower in May and gave them a number of gifts, as is the norm. Soon after, Kaycee claimed she needed to be on bed rest for the final months of her pregnancy. This ensured no one would see that she wasn’t actually pregnant.
A month later, Kaycee announced along with the picture of the baby on Facebook that their son Easton Walt Lang had been born.
So far so good and the scam was well in motion. But before her friends and loved ones could ask to visit, the sneaky couple started the final phase of their plan.
In an obituary released online, Kaycee revealed that Easton tragically died of respiratory failure hours after being born. They tried to pass off a doll as their dead son to raise funds for his fake funeral.
They were quick to create a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Easton’s funeral. The couple was successful in faking the death of their unborn child and raised $550 (Rs 39,000 approx.) in the online campaign before their friend busted them.
Cynthia Dilascio reported to the police in Johnstown that she suspected that Kaycee and Geoffrey tricked people into giving them money through their fake baby story. After an investigation, the police found no records of the child’s birth or death but instead found a doll in their house that resembled the baby in the pictures Kaycee shared.
The couple is now facing misdemeanour theft charges and is due to appear in court. GoFundMe, however, said that they will refund all the money to the donors’ who donated to the memorial fund set up by the couple.
It is sad that people play on the emotions of those closest to them to fulfil their selfish desires. Such incidences only ruin the prospects of those who are in genuine need of donations and funds.