SoCal family hit by Craigslist scam after child diagnosed with leukemia

ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) -- A Southern California family is fighting for their child's life and at the same time trying to protect their credit information.

Their son has been diagnosed with leukemia, but when the family tried to move closer to the hospital for his treatments, they were scammed.

From his playfulness, it might be hard to tell 14-month-old Marq Jones is sick.

"He's doing good," said the child's mother JoAnna Jones. "Every day, he's getting a little better and a little stronger."

Marq, known as Baby Q to his family, has spent more than a month at Children's Hospital of Orange County undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with leukemia.

"This is six to nine months at least minimum of chemo because it can come back at any time," said JoAnna. "You never know if it's gone."

His mother and his father Marc wanted to find a new home after the diagnosis.

They say their apartment in San Pedro - undergoing retrofitting - is no longer suitable for Baby Q, who has a weakened immune system. It's also too far away from the hospital.

"If he gets sick even remotely, it's an automatic emergency room," JoAnna said.

They say they thought they found their dream home in Long Beach after seeing an ad on Craigslist -- a 3 bedroom/2 bath home for $2,230 a month.

"I told my wife, 'OK, go for it. Let's send in the information,'" Marc Jones said.

They say they provided their financial information on the application.

Marc and their 4-year-old daughter even visited the place, but then a friend started looking into it.

"And the realtor was like, 'No, this house is in escrow. These people have nothing to do with this house at all," JoAnna said.

The Jones say they quickly froze their accounts to try to protect themselves against identity fraud. Now they're back to square one.

Their friends and family set up a GoFundMe page to try to raise enough money to move into a suitable home - all for Baby Q.

Marc and JoAnna say they need to find a home in the next three weeks. That's when Baby Q is expected to be released from the hospital.