Teenagers used fake medical case to get nearly $600 in ‘donations,’ authorities say
A group of teenagers and young adults solicited nearly $600 in donations in Perris with a false story about a juvenile suffering from a medical condition, authorities said.
The adults, 18-year-olds Davide Nistor and Ana Maria Dumitru of Anaheim, were arrested on suspicion of soliciting and theft by false pretenses. A 16-year-old and a 14-year-old were taken into custody and released to child protective services.
They carried signs asking for donations for someone with a tumor, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a release. The signs featured photos of the purported patient.
The department had received complaints about the group soliciting money on multiple days, standing in a street’s center median and close to vehicles.
Deputies found the group Friday at the intersection of Perris Boulevard and Nuevo Road and determined that the story had been made up and that the photos used on the signs had been taken from the internet.
Authorities seized the signs and $589.
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