A phony story about a dead baby got two California women plenty of sympathy and more than $600. But it also earned them a number of criminal charges.
Cops in Modesto busted Tiffany Lyon, 27, and Chasity Doll, 20, for allegedly begging motorists for money to help pay for a made-up funeral for a non-existent baby boy.
The duo had been standing on busy corners on Saturday with a sign asking for "Funeral Donations" for a child named Justin Michael Farrell, police told CBS 13.
Police officers confronted the women when they saw the duo dash onto the roadway to collect cash.
The cops reportedly warned the pair that they were creating a traffic hazard and let them go. But as they drove away, the officers claim the women ignored their orders.
So the cops returned and began asking questions about the child.
Lyon claimed the baby was hers and that Doll was her sister, according to The New York Daily News. The women allegedly stated that the baby died from a heart condition while they were in Modesto on vacation on June 6.
But when the pair were unable to answer questions about where the child was born, where the child died and the doctor who treated the boy, officers became suspicious.
After a call to the coroner confirmed that no baby named Justin Michael Ferrell had perished in the Modesto area, the women reportedly admitted the baby wasn't real and that the photo of a smiling child on their poster had been pulled off the internet.
Lyon and Doll have been charged with taking money under false pretenses and conspiring to defraud the public.
Police plan to give the cash they raised to charity.