A Florida man claiming to be homeless scammed shoppers outside a Target department store into giving him money – and then rewarded their generosity with $100 bills.
The heartwarming holiday campaign was an experiment launched by Plantation resident Brian Breach, as he explained in a Facebook video he posted on Christmas.
“Hi, my name is Brian Breach and today, I’m going to be homeless. I woke up this morning and I saw a Christmas video of someone giving back, which is important to do, so I want to do the same. Whoever decides to help me feed my family will get a $100 bill, so they can spend it on theirs. Let’s see what happens.
He held a sign written with a black pen on a piece of brown cardboard that appeared to be torn from a box.
“Homeless: Just need a little help to feed my family through the HOLIDAYS,” the sign read, besides a sketch of a Christmas tree.
“Oh my God. I’m gonna cry,” one stunned woman responded.
Breach explained to a man in a bright green t-shirt that he was “just trying to get some money to feed the family.” The man in the t-shirt handed him cash and started to walk away before Breach stopped him.
“Thank you so much, I appreciate it,” Breach said, and then casually employed his signature response: “Oh wait, just one more thing. Since you’re such a nice giver, this is for you for the holidays.”
The man in the t-shirt seemed overwhelmed, and said the experience turned him around about the less-fortunate in his community.
“For the longest time I thought to myself, I stopped giving people money and I said myself, ‘You know what? I don’t care. I’m doing really, really well!’ And I’m gonna give this back,” the man concluded, “this is not staying in my pocket.”
Soon another shopper’s generosity took hold. When Breach explained his campaign, and handed yet another $100 bill out.
“Are you serious? Oh wow.”
Breach told ABC affiliate WPLG that he dispatched $500 over the course of his experiment.
“I had a cup,” he said. “And anyone who gave me a $1 or $5, got a $100 in return.”
