The child told authorities he had been given the terminal diagnosis in May 2017. He said it scared him and he didn’t like to talk about it.

WENDY VICTORA @WendyVnwfdn

SHALIMAR — A couple who lied to a 13-year-old boy in their care by telling him he had terminal brain cancer have been charged with child cruelty and fraud.

Ginny Irovando Long and Robert Edward Long of Scottwood Drive were arrested Thursday.

They each face nine counts of fraud and one count of child abuse.

The pair set up a T-shirt fundraiser for the boy at his school to pay for his medical and funeral expenses. They also shared the bogus cancer diagnosis on their Facebook pages, according to their Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest reports.

The boy appeared to be very healthy in photographs, investigators noted.

On Dec. 28 the woman posted that it was a miracle he had survived to see Christmas and that the only person who knew when he would die is God.

The child told authorities he had been given the terminal diagnosis in May 2017. He said it scared him and he didn’t like to talk about it.

A GoFundMe account had been created to raise money for his care, the reports said.

The Sheriff’s Office began investigating last November after suspicions arose that the couple were exploiting the boy for financial gain.

The woman initially told investigators the boy had seven brain tumors and that if he had surgery, he might turn out to be a “vegetable,” according to her arrest report.

She couldn’t provide any documentation about the child’s condition on any of the occasions when she was questioned. The boy’s physician told investigators he did not have cancer of any sort.

The man told investigators similar stories about the boy’s condition and added that he had assisted the woman with additional fundraisers.