Couple faked pregnancy, baby’s birth, and baby’s death in scheme for gifts

A married couple in their 20’s – Kaycee and Geoffrey Lang of Friedens, Pennsylvania – have been charged with two counts of misdemeanor theft and one count of receiving stolen property.

What did they steal? Authorities say hundreds of dollars in cash and gifts from friends and family in the form of baby shower gifts and funeral donations, among other things, for their infant baby.

The problem: the Lang’s baby never existed.

Police say the couple’s pregnancy, the baby’s shower, the child’s birth, and its death were all manufactured as a scheme to bilk money and gifts from friends and family.

They even named the fake baby.

“Easton’s parents were blessed with just a little over 5 hours before he went to his heavenly home at 8:20 am. Easton experienced holding hands and hugs and kisses with his mommy and daddy and being told uncountable number of ‘I love yous,’” read the obituary that ran in Johnstown’s Tribune-Democrat on July 12.

One friend who doubted baby Easton’s existence reported her suspicions to police. A search warrant of the couple’s home yielded a “life-like newborn baby doll” that appeared to match photos posted to social media. Police even found an urn with “Easton Walt Lang” etched into it. (Here’s a picture of the baby doll.)

A GoFundMe campaign launched after the baby’s “death” had received 15 donations totaling $550, which will be returned to the donors.