Authorities in Georgia say a woman is facing criminal charges related to faking her son’s medical issues to receive disability payments.

According to WFXT, 34-year-old Teresa Lynne Roth is accused of forcing the 5-year-old child to take dozens of medications needlessly over the course of about two years starting in 2016.

“Between January 2016 and October 2018 Mrs. Roth did cause her son unnecessary physical and mental pain by subjecting him to undergo unnecessary medical treatments and medications, jeopardizing his well-being,” Hall County Sheriff’s Lt. Scott Ware said.

The boy was reportedly confined to a wheelchair and had a feeding tube inserted during much of this period despite the assessment of investigators that he was never sick in the first place. All the while, Roth was alegedly collecting fraudulent disability payments.

Authorities say they have collected evidence that the young victim was 3 years old when he began receiving treatment for multiple conditions at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. About four months ago, authorities became involved when medical professionals expressed suspicion about Roth and the child’s supposed illnesses.

The state’s Division of Family and Children Services took custody of the child at that time and a criminal investigation was underway. He has reportedly thrived since social workers removed him from the home.

Ware expressed his disgust over the alleged behavior.

“It’s messed up, you know?” he said. “It’s not normal.”

Roth was arrested on Thursday at her home in Gainesville and is expected to face criminal charges including child cruelty in the first degree. Additional arrests and charges could be forthcoming, according to authorities.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Roth remained behind bars at the Hall County jail with bond set at $16,700.

[Featured image: Teresa Roth, handout]