A Southern California woman contacted San Diego TV station after watching a pregnant woman and son beg for money in a shopping centre, then drive away in a Mercedes-Benz afterwards.
Melissa Smith, witnessed a pregnant mother and her child begging outside Eastlake Village Centre every weekend for the past two weeks. Each time, they would hold a sign reading,
'Please help', and would receive money from dozens of shoppers.
'Lots of people gave them money,' Ms Smith said.
'Probably five people in five minutes.'
But this week, Ms Smith was putting gas into her car when she saw the pair leave their begging spot and meet up with the woman's boyfriend before driving away in a dark-coloured Mercedes.
'I noticed they grabbed their little boy and they got into a Mercedes-Benz,' she told
KGTV.
'I thought, "Wow, a Mercedes-Benz. It's not even used - it's not old. It's a new Benz."' The car appears to be an older Mercedes C320, which sold for $30,000 to $35,000 new.
In outrage, Ms Smith immediately stopped pumping gas, climbed into her own car and followed the Mercedes down the road, while snapping photos of the luxury vehicle and its license plate.
'Lo and beyond they were in front of us,' she said.
'Here they are counting money, laughing and their little boy is not in a car seat or seat belt. He's all the way in the front seat with them.'
Astonishingly, Ms Smith watched the car turn into a nearby shopping plaza on Bonita Road, before the pregnant woman got out, grabbed the sign and started begging again. As shoppers reached into their pockets to help her, Ms Smith started taking more photos of the woman, prompting the beggar to start shouting at her. She later sent the photos to
KGTV.
According to the news station, the Mercedes's license plate number is registered to a woman with an Escondidio apartment complex address, where rent costs around $2,500 a month.
Credits: KGTV / DailyMail
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