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1.29.2013

What's going on here? Video captures possible elder abuse at Irvine shopping center



I don't have much information about this, but this video, uploaded to YouTube almost two months ago, has recently been making the rounds on social networks. If what it's alleging is true, it's pretty damn disturbing...

Folks who frequent the UCI Town Center in Irvine, California might be familiar with an elderly Asian woman in a wheelchair named "Cathy" who regularly panhandles at the shopping center well into the late hours of the evening. Who is she? What's her story? She claims she's homeless, and most people have left it at that.

However, according to the person who shot this video, Cathy's situation is apparently part of some kind of scam, perhaps even involving elder abuse, because she is dropped off and picked up at the UCI Town Center every day by her adult son, who drives a Toyota Prius. This video allegedly catches him in the act:




It's entirely clear what's what's happening, but when confronted, the guy does not sound like he's got it all together, and goes off the handle, rambling on about how Wells Fargo Bank is out to get him and his mother... but no satisfactory answers about why the hell he's picking up his mom from a shopping center at 2:00 in the morning. Something shady is definitely going on.

Is this a con? Is this elder abuse? I've heard from other folks who say they've regularly seen "Cathy" at the UCI Town Center. Can anyone else provide more information? Does anyone in the area know if this situation has been brought to the attention of authorities?

UPDATE: More here: Watch: Man With Laguna Ties Confronted About Alleged Elder Abuse.

UPDATE: Local news is starting to pick up on the story: Man Caught Using Elderly Mother to Panhandle.