Mom drives son 80 miles to panhandle using fake story of child’s death, CA cops say

A 45-year-old woman drove her son and a teenager nearly 80 miles as part of a scheme to panhandle using a bogus story about a dead child, California police reported.

A Victorville officer noticed a 19-year-old man standing in traffic holding a cardboard sign with a photo of a child and a message at 12:37 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, police said in a news release.

The sign claimed the child had died in a car accident, but the photo and tale were false, police said.

The man’s mother had driven him and a 17-year-old from Pico Rivera, near Los Angeles, about 80 miles northwest to Victorville to carry out the scheme, police said.

The mother and son were cited for panhandling, police said. The sign and money they had collected were confiscated.

Police reminded people to be cautious when giving money to panhandlers.

This story was originally published August 13, 2024 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Mom drives son 80 miles to panhandle using fake story of child’s death, CA cops say."