Wife turns in woman accused of faking boy’s cancer to get donations, Oklahoma cops say

An Oklahoma woman lied about a boy’s cancer diagnosis in a ploy to solicit money from unsuspecting donors, police say.

Ariana Gregg, 46, was charged this week with child abuse after her wife revealed she was faking cancer in a 6-year-old under their care, according to Poteau police.

The wife told investigators she believed Gregg and the boy left last week for another cancer treatment at Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis. Then she learned Gregg was actually in Saginaw, Michigan, visiting acquaintances she met on Tik Tok, according to an arrest affidavit.

Gregg’s wife shared other information that concerned police. She recalled Gregg shaving the boy’s head and eyebrows and applying makeup in “an attempt to exaggerate the appearance of him being sick” as well as providing him unknown medications throughout the day, the affidavit says.

“(She) also state that she has never been given access to (his) medical records and has never been allowed to attend any of his medical visits or treatments but Ariana told her he has stage 4 cancer,” the affidavit says.

A therapist for the couple joined Gregg’s wife for the visit with police and told investigators she has seen a “noticeable lost of weight” in the boy, estimating he weighed between 24 and 34 pounds.

After learning of the allegations, Poteau police located the boy in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with the help of the FBI, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and LeFlore County’s child welfare department. He was taken into protective custody by child welfare authorities in Indiana.

As police continued investigating, they learned Gregg has used “numerous” aliases over the years and the boy has a different legal name.

Her wife told investigators Gregg had previously said the boy was her adopted child from a former romantic partner, the affidavit says. But a search of Oklahoma state records revealed no legal custodial or adoption documents have been filed in any states where Gregg claimed to have filed them, police say.

Gregg used various online platforms and social media sites to solicit money under the guise of treatment for the boy, police say. They urged people to stop donating “due to the fraudulent nature of the claims.”

Poteau is a city of about 8,800 about 35 miles southwest of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Wife turns in woman accused of faking boy’s cancer to get donations, Oklahoma cops say."