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NJ Cops Catch Out-of-Town ‘Panhandler' With iPhone X, $500 Purse, Jewelry

She admitted she and others were dropped off around the state to panhandle

What to Know

  • Police in one northern New Jersey town are warning of fake panhandlers being dropped off from out of town to beg
  • One woman was stopped on the side of Route 78 asking for diaper money for her baby
  • An investigation determined she was carrying a $500 purse, an iPhone X and jewelry

She said she was poor and needed money for diapers for her baby -- but she was carrying a $500 purse with an iPhone X and jewelry inside.

Now police in Union Township, New Jersey, are warning motorists to be wary of other out-of-town roadside scammers. 

Union police posted a picture of the woman on their Facebook page Monday, saying she was seen walking in and out of traffic at the exit to Route 78, carrying a sign with a picture of a baby and asking for money.

After officers stopped her, the woman claimed to be Romanian, living in Queens and desperate. At that point they confronted her over the thousands of dollars in merchandise she was carrying.

"Their investigation led her to admit that she and several other women got dropped off to panhandle throughout NJ," the Facebook post read. 

The woman received a ticket for impeding traffic and a summons for soliciting without a permit, police added. 

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