A Connecticut man accused of shaving his head and taking weight loss pills to convince people he had stage 3 brain cancer and collect thousands in gifts has pleaded not guilty.

Tyler Tomer of Wallingford entered the plea Thursday to charges of first-degree larceny and first-degree larceny by victimizing a public community.

Police say an investigation started in May after they received complaints that a human claiming to have cancer was collecting donations at benefits in his honor.

Police say there have been multiple benefits for the 29 -year-old Tomer in Connecticut and Kansas. They say medical record determined he was never diagnosed with cancer.

Tomer allegedly accepted at the least $22,000.

His attorney didn’t comment on the charges.