Parents Of Sick Baby Scammed On Craigslist
LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — Marc and Jo Anna Jones thought buying a home was the answer to a prayer to be closer to the Children's Hospital of Orange County. They would soon learn it was a Craigslist scam.
When their 1-year-old son, Marq, whom they call "Q," was diagnosed with leukemia last month, they were desperate to move out of their apartment with water damage in San Pedro.
They decided to rent a home closer to the hospital where their son would be getting treatment and found what they thought was the perfect home in Long Beach.
The Jones say they responded to the ad and began texting who they thought was the owner who claimed to live out of state.
The couple says before they sent a deposit, a friend showed them the home listed for sale online already in escrow. The realtor had no idea someone was trying to rent it out.
"You feel like an idiot. How did I not see this coming," said Jones. "I'm smart, I'm an intelligent human being, I would warn my high school kids about scams and I didn't see it."
A GoFundMe page was set up to help support the family as Marq battles leukemia.