When Melissa decided to follow a pregnant panhandler who was begging for help every day on her way to work, she was shocked by what she found out: Melissa saw her and her baby boy entering a luxury car so she immediately thought the beggar was in danger. But truth is, she was far from needing help or money either. So Melissa thought she could not let this slip and took action. Here is what she did.
A Regular Day in Her Hometown
It was just another day for Melissa Smith and she was running errands in her hometown of San Diego, California. Every time she went to the local grocery store, she would see the same friendly faces. But, there was also another person she knew she would come across - the panhandler.
However, on that very day, Melissa thought something was off. She trusted her gut instinct and started investigating. While she was putting the bags into her car, Melissa saw that the beggar and her baby boy were leaving their spot. However, what happened next had Melissa reaching for her phone.
Trusting Her Gut
California is known for Hollywood, impressive architecture, national parks, beautiful weather, but also for a high number of homeless people. But, sometimes, people would just pretend to be homeless and Melissa never allowed these con artists to fool her.
But, every time she went grocery shopping, she would see the same woman wearing stained clothes and standing in the scorching sun for hours. To make things worse, she was also visibly pregnant. “I felt bad. There’s a pregnant lady with a little boy who is down on her luck,” she explained. Sometimes, a strange man would keep her company. Melissa assumed that it was her husband. But she never expected that her gut feeling would lead to a shocking revelation.
Coming Up With a Plan
It seemed that the pregnant woman was experienced and that she knew what to do to get everyone's attention. She was well aware that her situation would make everyone feel sorry for her. So, she came up with a perfect story - an expecting mother fights for survival with her young son.
In addition, she would also hold a cardboard sign with “please help” scrawled across in black ink right above her bump. If the people didn't feel sorry for her or her little boy, they would feel sorry for her unborn child. Maybe the lady was telling the truth. But, Melissa wanted to make sure.
Just by Chance
In addition, she would also hold a cardboard sign with “please help” scrawled across in black ink right above her bump. If the people didn't feel sorry for her or her little boy, they would feel sorry for her unborn child. Maybe the lady was telling the truth. But, Melissa wanted to make sure.
All of a sudden, Melissa noticed that she was low on gas so she decided to stop by a gas station located right across the road. She saw the homeless lady standing at the side of the shopping complex. She was trying to get a few more pennies before finally going home. All of a sudden, a vehicle appeared around the corner and raced toward her.
Man's Identity Revealed
After waiting to see what would happen next, Melissa became very confused. The driver was the beggar's partner. But, that's not what surprised her the most; it was the car he was driving.
The man was driving a Mercedes Benz - a luxury car well-known for its high-quality leather interiors and expensive price tags. Melissa was determined to act. Little did she know that she would make the headlines.
Pictures as Evidence
“They were leaving, and I noticed they went into a Mercedes Benz. I thought, ‘Wow, a Mercedes Benz?'” Melissa revealed. To make things worse, the car seemed spotless, as if it was brand new. Without thinking, Melissa jumped into her car and started following the couple. She decided to record everything on her phone.
When she caught up with them, they were laughing. “Lo and behold, they were in front of us. Here they are counting money, laughing. Their little boy is not in a car seat or a seat belt. He’s in the front seat with them,” Melissa explained. She was so angry and she didn't want to let them get away with this. She knew that she had to notify the public. But, she had no idea what else she was about to discover.
Caught in the Act
Melissa followed the couple and she was surprised to see them stop in front of another shopping center. It seems that these two had planned everything out. Then, the woman stepped out of the car and started doing her thing. “She sits there with the sign. He goes [and] parks the Mercedes. They put up the sign and not less than five minutes; here she is getting money from all these people,” Melissa explained.
Melissa was just scratching the surface of something much deeper. Melissa was so mad at the beggar and then she started taking pictures of her and her son. Or, was he her son at all? However, the couple eventually spotted Melissa. They were enraged and they started yelling and screaming at her. The woman even grabbed a huge rock. “Next thing I know, she picked up this big boulder,” Melissa said, “I don’t know if pregnant people can do that, but it was pretty big over her head and coming at me with this rock.” Another woman was close by and, as soon as she noticed what was going on, she decided to call the cops. This made the beggar grab the little boy and start running away.
Finding Out the Truth
Melissa was not willing to let these impostors get away that easily. She posted all the photos on her social media accounts and contacted the local news station. She had to make sure that the locals knew about this deception and prevent more people from giving money to the beggar.
But, the news station was very curious and they wanted to find out if there was more to this story. So, thanks to Melissa's photos and videos, they were able to run the plates from the car. It turned out that the car was registered to a female but the address was undisclosed. And, this is just the beginning of the story about these fakers.
Visiting the Encinitas Heights Apartment
Soon, many journalists became obsessed with this story. They were able to trace the lady's whereabouts to Encinitas Heights Apartments. The residents of the apartment paid a monthly rent of $2,500. As soon as the word got out, magazine, radio, and paper journalists went to the address, knocked for days, but no one answered. The lights were off for days and no one entered or exited the apartment.
Then, something else happened. A new couple moved in and the couple who lived there previously had left during the night, without any notice. Melissa was amazed by the amount of attention this story was receiving.
Going Viral
Melissa shared this shocking story online and backed everything up with pictures and videos. Many journalists contacted her to get more information and share the story themselves. “I feel bad. Don’t give these people money. They don’t need it. They’re driving a Benz,” she pleaded.
The residents couldn't believe this. They were shocked to see that someone would use a small child and pregnancy to prey on the pity of others. A few days later, journalists would receive a phone call that made them storm to a new scene.
Spotting the Beggar
The beggar was spotted! One young lady named Rebecca heard the story about the panhandler while driving to one shopping center. There, she recognized the woman from Melissa's videos. She immediately left a comment under Melissa's post and posted a picture as proof. As soon as this news reached Emily Valdez, she gathered her crew and they were on their way to the shopping center.
Valdez followed the tip and started searching for the woman in the shopping center. She came across several pregnant ladies but none of them were beggars. But, when she finally came across the woman from Melissa's posts, she was shocked. Valdez was sure that the panhandler was pregnant. But, two days after Melissa discovered the truth, this woman was in another shopping center holding a baby. But, Valdez didn't let this stop her.
Finding the Panhandler
Valdez approached the woman and pointed the microphone towards her. “Is this you, begging?” Valdez asked as the crew was recording everything. Valdez reached for her phone so she could show the beggar Melissa’s video.
The woman stared at the phone, then at Valdez, and then she looked at the camera. “I don’ speak English,” she whispered. Her little boy tugged at her jumper. He was certainly the boy from Melissa's photos. But then, as Valdez began to follow the woman up the street, the beggar's husband showed up.
It's a Match
“Keep the camera rolling!” Valdez said. She was willing to do anything for a good story. The man tried to keep the journalists away from his family, but they wouldn't give up. The journalists followed the family up the street, around the corner, and watched them pile into the back of a minivan. The vehicle had the dealer plates and Valdez was convinced that she caught them.
She ran facial recognition on the woman from the video and the woman she had met that same day. She was glad to see the results; they were an 80% match. Valdez then observed the woman’s partner. There was something about his reaction that made her think that there was more to uncover. And her hunch was right.
Finding More Clues
The mysterious man said something in Spanish to Valdez. However, he whispered something to his partner in a different language. Valdez couldn't understand a word he said, but she was willing to do everything in her power to reveal the truth. Later on, the comment would expose the very thing this man was trying to hide.
Valdez downloaded the footage, and using headphones, pressed play. She listened to the words over and over again. But, she couldn't identify the language. But, she was lucky enough to receive a phone call from an expert.
Help From an Expert
Leslie Albright is a retired detective and she came across Valdez’s short interview with the suspects. She was a crucial member of the San Diego Police Department during the investigation of underground crime rings. After working for 25 years, Leslie became a specialist.
This story had Leslie thinking. She knew that she had heard that language before, but she couldn't remember where. Then, it hit her. Leslie realized that the woman was not an ordinary beggar and that this story was more sinister than it seemed.
Secrets Come Out
Valdez wasn't the only one searching for the beggar, but the rest of the Internet as well. But, they didn't have a clue that a scam was about to be exposed. There was much more to this story than any of them had estimated.
For the past few years, people started noticing a problem in their community. California was portrayed as a city of hip culture and lavish lifestyles, but there was one big problem that everyone ignored, and it was getting worse by the day. Leslie watched Valdez's footage again and recognized the language. The man was speaking Romani.
Escaping Justice
For a long time, authorities were trying to catch the perpetrators and bring them to justice. But, they were smart enough not to stay in one spot for too long. As soon as they noticed that someone is onto their act, they packed their bags and fled.
And, just when it seemed that everything was over, one man stepped in and provided some information. This could help the authorities find out more about the perpetrators.
Reddit Whistleblower
This unknown man revealed some information that even put his own life in danger. Moreover, he shared all the details on Reddit. “I had a friend of a friend tell me that they knew them and that they’re just a hustling pair of Con Artists whose families conned their way into the country.”
But, he didn't stop there. He even claimed that the woman was forced to do all these things. The man was afraid for his safety and he deleted his profile shortly after sharing this information. What could the consequences be if his identity was revealed?
Getting To The Bottom Of It
After this, more and more information started surfacing. It turns out that the woman would often stuff her clothes with foam and pretend that she's pregnant. Thanks to the fake belly, she would earn more than $500 daily. But, she was not the only one who did this.
When it comes to crime rings, men often lead their operations. They promise desperate women shelter and food in exchange for some work. The women are dispatched every morning and collected in the evening. Of course, the profit isn't distributed fairly. Those who run everything lead lavish lifestyles while the beggars certainly don't.
Threatening Phone Calls
“They’ll use the babies, children, anyway they can… the children will not go to school because their job and their future is the Family Business,” Leslie revealed later. These children usually don't receive any education and crime becomes everything they know.
“People should know, there’s plenty of service and organizations that exist to help people and especially for women with children. They’re taking advantage of them all as well as scamming people at the parking lot entrances. Neither of them is reporting the money they’re making from her begging and both are claiming poverty to get state and federal assistance,” the anonymous Reddit user also added. But then, he started receiving threatening phone calls. Before removing all traces of himself online, the informant had one last thing to add.
Warning to All
“They might be up and trying this scam again or it might be another woman, either way, call the cops on them, making sure to tell the dispatch that they’re “the BMW scammers” so they’re identified and the state can start the proper deportation proceedings against them… don’t help any of them or give money to any of the panhandlers you might see.”
The Reddit user's warning was clear. Of course, Leslie's former team is still working to catch those who run operations like this one. And, let's not forget about Melissa. Without her intuition, people would never hear the truth about these beggars. But, one question remains. If the police can't catch them, how will they be stopped?
Another story that involves a couple taking advantage and breaking the law to get rich is that of Robert and Tiffany Williams. Read on to discover what this couple did when a large sum of money was accidentally given to them...
Another story that involves a couple taking advantage and breaking the law to get rich is that of Robert and Tiffany Williams. Read on to discover what this couple did when a large sum of money was accidentally given to them...
When a $120k Deposit Lands in Your Bank Account, Do You Spend It or Not? Check Out What This Couple Did
When you check your bank account, it's usually for two reasons. First, it's to see if your bill payment went through, and second, to check if your salary has come in. That's usually the case at least for ordinary working people like us. Usually, there's nothing out of the ordinary except for occasional bonuses perhaps. What if one day, you find your bank account having way more in it than you would have expected? If you knew that you never won the lottery, then it would be easy to sense that something is not right. Normally, we check with the bank but the couple in our story did something else when they saw an unexpected amount of money in their bank account. Keep reading to see what they did.
A Normal Day Soon Becomes Not So Normal
One fine morning in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, Robert, and Tiffany Williams rose for another typical day in their lives, or so it seems. Away from work, the couple shares a great interest in car racing. Huge fans as they are, they have a Facebook page called Williams Motorsports.
The page had several photos of the husband posing with various cars. It also displayed how supportive the wife is of her husband’s passion. Her supportive nature soon becomes a detrimental factor for them as they faced a rather unusual situation...
Life Is Hard But They Had Each Another
The Williams, residing on Cypress Street, face the typical everyday dilemma of a middle-class American. Bills just never end for the couple. Their paychecks are not in a tip-top shape to give them a more comfortable life. Nevertheless, this couple still has a fairly happy marriage.
To make sure that they are on top of their bills, the two often check their accounts a couple of times during the day. While doing a routine check, something caught their eye. A large sum of money was deposited into their account on the 31st of May. They were not expecting this much money to be deposited.
The Bank Can Make an Error
When they looked again, the couple’s balance in their account turned from being just over a thousand dollars to a massive $120,000 in a blink of an eye. The Williams knew that the money could not have come from anywhere but from their bank, BB&T, which clearly made a mistake. Normally, a person’s instinct would tell them to contact the bank and verify what had happened.
It could also be that the visual number shown on their screen may just be an error in itself, and not really the amount present in their account. Even there was so much uncertainty surrounding the incident, the couple did not do the logical thing.
Money It Is
For whatever reason, the couple had a different reaction upon seeing the numbers in their account. Instead of ringing up the bank, they decided that this opportunity was too good to give up. They decided that if they saw those digits in their account, the money must be theirs.
That was what they believed. And not foreseeing the potential clash with authorities, the couple went on to treat the sum as their own.
Spending Spree
Having that extra money in their account gave them nothing but the thought of spending it. Spending all of the money in a short period of time seemed like a silly move but they did exactly that. The money seemed to disappear between June 3rd and June 19th. Normally, sudden huge purchases would alert a bank right away.
A bank would usually verify with the person in question, however, the duo was able to proceed with their huge spending for weeks without being caught. But their luck would soon expire...
Easy Money Spent Easily on Cars
The couple, particularly the husband, has always been a car enthusiast. Most likely, the first thing that went to Robert’s head was to purchase a car with the surprise money they got.
The next thing they knew, they were already making trips to various car dealerships. You would think that, at the back of their minds, blowing every cent of that extra money in their account might enable the bank to know of their naughty actions...
Top of the Wish List
The couple, being avid fans of the car racing industry, was easily led to purchase a racecar with their sudden wealth. Procuring one normally is a long process, but for the couple, it only took a few weeks to get a racecar, a chevy, and an SUV in their garage.
They also used the money to do some repairs on their existing cars. The two are in love with automobiles by the looks of it. The spending spree did not end there though.
More Automobiles
If you think what they had already bought was enough, guess again. The couple added an RV and a car trailer too! Anyone who enjoys traveling around has more of a tendency to invest in such vehicles. This couple sure does, but a little bit on the extreme side.
They did not appear to have been well-prepared to manage sensibly and righteously this claimed ‘overnight’ wealth they had. Things would soon take a less-than-fortunate turn for the lucky couple.
Generosity
The couple was not entirely self-centered in their approach to the newfound money. Aside from paying off their bills and buying vehicles, they helped some family and friends in financial difficulty. This added up to a total of $15,000. Compared to the prior spending spree they had, this ‘act of help’ was only a minor thing for the Williams.
Sometimes, money can be too blinding to enable one to see what is happening around them. None of the people who the couple helped even bothered to investigate where this mysterious wealth came from.
Their Own Business
The Williams kept on their daily lives, presuming it was just them who knew about their odd wealth. In a later interview with Robert’s father, he claimed that he never had even the slightest idea of what was happening with his son. They appeared to have kept their extravagant purchase on the down-low.
The couple may have hidden their newfound wealth from others but they also managed to spend it irresponsibly, and not to mention, over a very short period of time.
A Hard-To-Believe Mistake
At a later time, WNEP News took time to interview the couple’s neighbors. Nate Weaver was in disbelief as to how such a lapse could happen in the bank’s strict system. Procedures and verification are so tight that any sort of mistake is unbelievable.
The Williams did think, however, that they had gotten away with the whole thing. They celebrated prematurely, as soon the bank started to chase after them.
Luck Starts to Run Out
As expected with anything missing, someone is bound to look for it especially if it is a huge sum of money. The company with the missing funds sat down with BB&T to discuss their concerns about a deposit that never went into their account. The bank froze the amount after checking and realizing their error. Right away, they credited back the company the amount of $120,000.
To make things right, the bank had to charge the Williams $107,000 in overdraft costs. The couple spent money that was not theirs, to begin with. Looking unaffected and without much care, the Williams did not return their cars nor contact anyone to settle the matter.
Dodging Notifications
After weeks of failed contact, the bank had the impression that the money would not be paid back. Loose ends on the bank’s side were now sorted out, but not on the side of the Williams. After trying to contact Tiffany twice, the bank finally got hold of her.
The wife said that the matter would be discussed with her husband regarding a payment plan. After that, several attempts to receive updates turned futile.
Ignorance of the Law Excuses No One
Ignorant or simply in denial, the couple did not seem to understand the weight of what they had done. As one of their neighbors mentioned in an interview, falling into such a situation would normally cause them to verify the discrepancies, and not abuse them.
At this stage, the Williams were now in deep trouble. They might have thought it was solely the bank’s mistake, and not theirs to sort out. They got it all wrong.
The Teller Made an Erroneous Typing Error
Upon further digging, the bank found out where the lapse started. A teller at a BB&T in Georgia mistyped an account number upon processing a deposit. This led the money to the account of the Williams. Mistakes can happen no matter how careful someone is.
However, the error took time to be sorted out and fell into the hands of careless people. Instead of doing what was right, the couple chose to take advantage and claim it as theirs.
Call for Help
The decision to seek help from the police authorities did not come without a civil process of reaching out. The bank tried countless times to contact the couple but never heard in return. The bank tried to make a feasible solution by offering a payment plan without turning the situation into a criminal matter.
No cooperation was seen, and so the bank needed to take action legally. The couple found themselves facing felony charges with up to ten years in prison time.
It Led to an Arrest
The police authorities conducted their investigation and found out that the couple violated the law. They were arrested for felony charges of theft and receiving stolen property. Upon conducting a separate interrogation, the Williams' story was found to be consistent. They confessed that they were aware of their misjudgment, and it was a joint decision to use the money.
No one in their family nor circle of friends was aware of it, so no one else was to be involved in the case. The couple took full responsibility for paying back what was used.
An Unexpected Bail
With their financial situation, the couple still, surprisingly, managed to lodge a bail at $25,000 each. How they got that money remained unknown and was discovered. For most of the arraignment hearing, the couple’s lips were sealed tight.
However, something of Robert’s history came up that might have supported the case against the couple.
He Had a Similar Situation Before
When faced with an investigation, it is expected that one’s history will be carved out. As for Robert Williams, he had something similar which occurred in 2001. His public record stated that he was charged with writing a bad check, thus committing theft by deception-false impression. This led him to pay $4,000 back then.
The way things looked, Robert had not learned his lesson and led him to his current situation. All the information gathered only made him look bad in the investigation.
Learning the Hard Way
A plea bargain is still to be accepted by the Williams. The couple still has so much to think about to make things work in their favor. However, we can only hope that this is the last time that the couple will break the law and that a lesson has been learned already.
Penalties such as community service and fines might have not worked for Robert. A ten-year prison time might help him perhaps. People can be reckless and stubborn at the same time. Waking up to reality and doing the right thing takes courage in many forms. Hopefully, Robert will soon get that strength. “It probably wasn’t the best thing in the end,” Robert Williams had stated after it all happened, possibly showing that he is learning slowly.