A sign allegedly used in the baby funeral scam. (Fontana Police) |
FONTANA, Calif. (KTLA) -- Police have arrested 4 people in connection with a panhandling scam to solicit money to pay for an infant's funeral.
Police, responding to a call about a woman begging for money, uncovered the alleged scam.
They say one of the suspects, 21-year-old Heather Nichols, was holding a sign with an infant's photo on a street corner.
Police say the Beaumont woman admitted she was part of an operation to fraudulently solicit money from people claiming the hand-outs were being used to pay for funeral services for dead babies.
The operation netted from $700 to $1,400 a day and had been ongoing for six months to a year in San Diego, Modesto and Arizona, Sgt. Billy Green told The Los Angeles Times.
"The scammers were leveraging the emotional aspects of a dead infant," the department said in a statement.
Also arrested were Catherine Mendez, 22, of Beaumont; Chasity Doll, 20, of Cherry Valley; and Jamari Carter, 26, of Highland.
The identity of the infant on the poster is not known.
Police, responding to a call about a woman begging for money, uncovered the alleged scam.
They say one of the suspects, 21-year-old Heather Nichols, was holding a sign with an infant's photo on a street corner.
Police say the Beaumont woman admitted she was part of an operation to fraudulently solicit money from people claiming the hand-outs were being used to pay for funeral services for dead babies.
The operation netted from $700 to $1,400 a day and had been ongoing for six months to a year in San Diego, Modesto and Arizona, Sgt. Billy Green told The Los Angeles Times.
"The scammers were leveraging the emotional aspects of a dead infant," the department said in a statement.
Also arrested were Catherine Mendez, 22, of Beaumont; Chasity Doll, 20, of Cherry Valley; and Jamari Carter, 26, of Highland.
The identity of the infant on the poster is not known.
