Crying Girl Con Artist/Discussion

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This page preserves some of the tumult surrounding the Crying Girl Con Artist as the story developed here on the Wiki.

facebook profile - background discussion

Not sure if it matters much at this point with all the info and exposure that this has gotten and since their profiles a set to private, but here is her [WWW]facebook,
and here is her [WWW]brother's
Notice his name is slightly altered. Also, her profile picture is interesting... wondering if it's from a real contest or not...
I'm sure someone could find more if they wanted to waste the time to dig through their friend lists and the public profiles/look for profiles of accomplices.
Also, evil or not, I would totally bang crying girl. Ok, maybe I'd have to paper bag it or tape her mouth shut so I didn't have to hear that annoying voice, but ya get the idea :P —bigpimpin

I took the profile links down for the time being. Here's what they were:

Some more information on her:

Question: What's the best way to make sure the DPD has this information? They could absolutely use the list of facebook friends as part of an investigation. I feel weird calling them up because, well, I'm at work right now. Can someone volunteer to give them a quick phone call asking them the best way to send them this sort of information? —PhilipNeustrom

So I took a little time this evening to try and draft out a possible new page. I'm sure many of you will have input or changes to this but basically tried to break out the current information about crying girl into a second paragraph with additional info from comments. I also went through and tried to integrate all the comments with proper timestamps. Lastly I removed the the majority of the license plate discussion. Please edit as you see fit. Try not to use the comment bar, btw. Its should go into the final page. Image references are broken at this point too.

Local Example: Crying Girl with a Train Schedule

Upload new image "cryinggirl.jpg"

Sightings: Downtown corners; shopping plazas (outside Nugget Market, Co-op, both Safeways, U-Mall, Save Mart, Target, the Dixon Walmart, etc.)

Seen: November 2009 (?) – Present

Scam: The "crying girl" is a particularly prolific and notorious scammer who has been victimizing people in Davis. She is a dark haired girl who has dyed her hair reddish blond who sometimes wears heavy, tear-smeared make-up. She hangs out around the downtown area or in front of grocery stores, clutching a train schedule and approaching people with one of two stories. Depending on the age and gender of her mark, she alternates between a story involving her mother stranding her in Davis and another involving her boyfriend dumping her and then stranding her in Davis. She has been known to fake crying during these encounters, often with real tears. The amount requested for "train tickets" will generally be around $40 dollars, give or take a few dollars to lend legitimacy. Reportedly, she has also begun telling people a new story wherein she purports to be homeless. She has been known be become aggressive when people make her mad and confrontations with her should be avoided.

Current Information: A wealth of information about her has been uncovered since reports of her first appeared on Daviswiki in March 2010. People claiming to have known her personally identified her as, 20 year old, Jillian "Jill" Johnson of Vacaville. A [WWW]myspace photo gallery showing her name along with pictures (one of which is included below) was uncovered. Wiki users who had encountered her in person verified her identity in those photos. Other witnesses also reported a number of accomplices that she works with, two of whom have been ID'd in one of the myspace photos as well. One accomplice was identified by name, Caleb Holcomb, and is purported to be her boyfriend. The name of the second accomplice is currently not known, but a clear image of him appears in the myspace photo as well. Additional female accomplices have been reported, but not currently identified. These people typically wait in a car while she runs her scam, and when she gets into trouble, they either jump out as backup, or drive her away. Two vehicles have been cited as getaway cars, a black Chevy Tahoe with a plate number of 4GDY921 along with a red Toyota. A comment was also posted to a Davis Voice article by a person claiming to be her, stating that she was an actress/model. A [WWW]Facebook account was later found, again showing her name, and included a profile picture of her from an unknown beauty pageant holding trophies. Many witnesses again, claimed that the girl in the photo was, in fact, the crying girl.

For Your Safety: If you see her roping someone in, be careful when warning the victims away. She has been known to follow whistleblowers for blocks, threatening and shouting at them. You may have a piece of concrete hurled your way if you try to take a picture of her (see below).

Everyone who has had an interaction with her should file a police report using [WWW]this form (pdf). They don't need to catch her in the act, they just need reports and witnesses of the crimes to arrest her and have her convicted. So take a few minutes to report her if she conned you.

Scam Alert Flyer: If you want to help alert the community, there is a [WWW]handy flyer (pdf) available for you to download and print.

Media Coverage

Upload new image "CryingGirlWithFriends3.jpg"

Some more information on her:

Experiences

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2010-03-22 06:04:33   So it would appear that I've talked to this girl... She said she was from San Diego and her mother stranded her, she needed 37 bucks for an amtrak ticket, but she already had the ticket slip which meant that she rode the train one way already. I was at an ATM at the time so I found it weird, things weren't adding up. She had just gotten off the phone and was crying as well. Funny now I see a page, Daubert

2010-03-22 07:00:55   Tried to hit me up on the corner of 3rd and F. Had a female partner with her trying to get $35.00 for train fare to San Diego saying she had just recently been kicked out her home by her live-in Boyfriend. Sad really that this is somehow becoming a lifestyle for her and that she has somehow convinced her friend to help her do it now. Hair was reddish Blonde and her friend was brunette. Both appear to be aroun16 or 17 years old. —WesOne

2010-03-22 16:50:18   Oh No! I was at University Mall Bank of America ATM I think last month and was scammed $5 by this girl!!! She was crying (real tears I thought I saw) that "she and her boyfriend had a huge fight", she was chased out of the apartment and she needed $35 for a motel stay. I was with my kids so I didn't bother to offer any help beside the $5 :( Thanks so much for this page - this needs to go into the Enterprise and reported to the police!! —LeeY

2010-03-22 17:17:46   If one of you guys could post a better description, I would appreciate it. I only saw her once or twice in the dark. —EdwardNiemand

2010-03-22 22:46:56   She is targeting parents with kids too with her sob stories, yes - got another report from friend :( —LeeY

2010-05-17 05:30:55   So last thursday, May 13, I was stopped by someone fitting this description. She had bleached hair, lots of mascara and the same story (the one about being stranded by her mom). She was also holding a train schedule. I managed to get a picture. (She didn't like that at all. Notice the chunk of concrete in her hand? It was thrown at me a second later.) Wanted to see if this is the same girl others have been stopped by. I don't want to accuse her, but the experience was a little too similar to what I'd read on here. —JamesMadden

2010-05-17 06:34:43   Yeah, I ran into the Crying Girl in front of G Street Pub a few months ago. I directed her towards the Davis Cold Weather Shelter, since it was dark, and I knew that odds were slim on her getting a train out of town that late. —Flynn

2010-05-17 18:01:08   i've seen "the crying girl" on multiple occasions at the marketplace in west davis. i called the cops on her and she ran away. i can positively identify her in the picture of her. that is most definitely her. —cjoe

2010-05-18 04:31:00   That picture is definitely the Crying Girl. I've seen her in South Davis a a little more than a half dozen times starting around Novemeber and ending around February, though apparently she's showing back up. She doesn't work alone by the way, she usually has a car waiting for her, with a male driver. —TonyAhr

2010-05-18 14:41:08   I can confirm that girl in the picture is the crying girl. She conned me and my fiancee last Friday in the parking lot by fex-ex/kinkos. —ChrisDietrich

2010-05-18 17:11:21   This is the crying girl. She tried to get me to give her money in the Save Mart parking lot and when I refused she got into a big black tahoe/suburban with a guy. She was not very convincing, her bus schedule was way to old for her to actually be trying to get a current train. I hope something can be done about her, she is ridiculous and should feel horrible about what she is doing. Will the Aggie do an article about her to spread the word? —gilmore518

2010-05-18 17:18:23   she approached my girlfriend and I outside North Davis Safeway a few months ago. Glad we didn't buy the story. —patrick82

2010-05-18 18:22:11   I'm really surprised the DPD hasn't seemed to be involved. Sounds like this girl is a public nuisance. —jsbmeb

2010-05-18 21:32:47   Thanks for the responses people. To TonyAhr's questions on my user page, that photo was taken toward the north end of the Safeway parking lot. The time of night was about 10pm. Hopefully there's a security tape of her. She was stopping a lot of people out there. A few people have also mentioned a black or dark colored truck and a male companion. I think I actually encountered him too. In fact the truck can be seen in the background, (unfortunately it's somewhat obscured). As I was taking that picture a guy jumped out and began making threats to me. Figured he was just taking the side of a random girl. I didn't want to stir up a fight so I split as soon as I got the picture. All this could have been coincidence, but now it makes me wonder a little bit. Maybe someone can get another picture. :) As far as the Davis Police Department goes, I would love to see them get caught. Unfortunately, I think the police need to catch her in the act. In the meantime, this will hopefully get people on alert. Calling the police is definitely a very good idea if you spot her running this scam. If the police physically see her doing it, they would have a good case. —JamesMadden

2010-05-19 07:53:37   By request, I have just uploaded the original file. WilliamLewis was correct about the original file size being bigger. Unfortunately, I had cropped down that photo to get a better view of the crying girl. I also resampled a bit to reduce the file size, but it didn’t change the resolution around the license plate too much. However, the original file is up and maybe people can find it useful. I should also add that I can’t confirm that the guy had any relationship with the girl. Maybe if they can be seen showing up together on a security tape, we could have some more solid evidence, but at this point the guy could have been coincidental. William was also correct about the timestamp. I did set a time on my camera at some point, so the 10:22 pm should be about right. I also wanted to make a clarification to Tony about the location. This was in the north end of the parking lot between Rite Aid and Yolo Credit Union, not the area around House of Chang or Round Table. Tony, I also liked that you posted to facebook, I think that’s a great idea! —JamesMadden Upload new image "IMG_1580.JPG" Upload new image "edited.JPG"

2010-05-20 02:11:01   Pump the brakes here internet detectives, John Neves (and by extension DPD) are more than aware of our crying girl! Her name is Amber, and she has been stopped by him and warned if this persists she will be arrested. Both license plates of both involved vehicles have been recorded, one is the dark Chevy with male, the other is red Toyota with female. If you have any further contact with crying girl / Amber please contact DPD post haste. If you were bilked please fill out the PDF that is linked on this page. Thank you for your time Daubert

2010-05-19 23:56:52   I have walked into the stranded neighbor twice, and have been trying to bring her down! The first time I gave her some money and then realized I had an unused Amtrak ticket in my wallet so offered her that instead which was worth a lot more (they can be exchanged for credit on another journey). She told me they wouldn't accept it, which isn't true at all which is when I realized her story did not seem truthful. I asked her what time her train left and told her it was too late for that line and that she was wrong. I took everything I gave her back and walked away and she abused me. The next time I saw her before she even opened her mouth I told her to go away. She is a scam-artist through and through. Since then I have hoped to encounter her again and take a picture - well done to whoever did. Her MO is to target young men for obvious reasons. —thomwoodroofe

2010-05-21 00:10:49   Wow. I don't think this girl knows about daviswiki. I actually ran into her again tonight! I saw her standing in the Kinko's parking lot this time. I was so dumbfounded, I parked my car, and she actually approached me again! I tried to take another picture and this time she opened my car door and tried to grab my camera. I had a tripod with me and she backed off when I grabbed it, but she got on her phone and called her friends. The nice guys at Kinko's were very helpful and were quickly on the phone to the police at this point.

Two guys ran up shortly after. One was white with dark hair and had a short, thin goatee. He maybe 5'-6", wore a red baseball cap and baggy clothes. He had a spray canister that he said was mace. Tried to spray me with it but it was either deodorant or cologne. The other guy was taller, maybe 5'-9", was either white or hispanic, and had dark curly hair under a green baseball cap. He wore baggy clothes as well. I could definitely identify them again. They both made a lot of threats but didn't want to go near Kinko's where there were witnesses. The crying girl (at least I think it was her, as she'd disappeared by this time) had grabbed the same black Chevy, which the two guys jumped into before driving off. Who ever said is was a Tahoe or Sububan was correct. Its an SUV type Chevrolet. Unfortunately I couldn't get the plate number or pictures.

An officer came up shortly after and I filed a proper police report. He was very helpful and said the police department were well aware of her. Apparently the district attorney is putting together a case against them as well. He said calling the police was the best bet if people she her again. He also mentioned that they are turning up in Natomas and Vacaville too, and said he thought they were from out of town. The pictures I got tonight didn't turn out so I have nothing to post on that end. I wish I did! She is still working the City of Davis however, so please keep your eyes out. —JamesMadden

2010-05-23 17:24:20   I've been had! i gave her 20 dollars! Definitely going to file a police report. What a jerk! —christinag

2010-05-24 09:39:04   Well, after thoroughly checking the tapes from Thursday 5/13, I can safely say that the cement toss is not on tape, it occured too far out of range of the cameras. She was back again tonight though. I was in the checkstand and a customer was getting cash back and just happened to mention that there was a girl outside who needed it for a train ticket. After I warned him about her scheme, I relieved myself from the checkstand and called Davis PD but she was gone by the time they got there. The officer mentioned that they have been recieving a lot of calls regarding her.

I checked the tapes shortly afterward and she's on it. Her apperence was slightly different as she had her hair in pigtails, but it was very clear on the tape that it was her, and also clear what she was doing. The tape catches her approaching 3 different shoppers as they exited their cars to run her scam. Her male accomplice parked himself near one of our cameras too, so I was able to get a descent look at him. The guy looks like he's about the same age as her, late teens to 20 years old, hispanic, medium height and was hearing a dark hoodie over a dark baseball cap and was holding a cell phone. It was quite clear on the tape that he was providing lookout.

So basically, stay vigilant because she's still around and probably not going anywhere until she's caught. —TonyAhr

2010-05-24 23:00:40   Ok, these guys are just plain dumb. You don't even have to look for them. Just show up at the South Davis Safeway after ten! Sure glad I'm a late night shopper. I watched them get out of their car and hit up some more innocent victims while I took a plate number. 4GDY921 —JamesMadden

2010-05-25 18:01:39   UGHH!!!! this girl completely scammed me and my boyfriend back in May. She said she was kicked out of her boyfriends house and needed money for the train to San Diego. I believed but had had some skepticism in what she was saying but i figured it was the truth. So i gave her $40 and shook her hand and made her promise that she was using the money for that reason and that she wouldnt ask anyoneelse for money and be on that train in the morning. So much for thinking people could be honest! how can she look someone in the eye and lie to them and then repeated ly use this scam on other people! NO conscience! Well i defineately hope she gets caught and i WILL be filing a police report! —tleann

2010-05-25 19:23:52   Crying girl is almost certainly well into the grand theft range under California Penal Code sections 484 and 487. "Every person who ... shall knowingly and designedly, by any false or fraudulent representation or pretense, defraud any other person of money, labor or real or personal property ... is guilty of theft." CPC section 484. The threshold for grand theft under 487 is $400 aggregate value. As grand theft is a felony, an officer of the law can arrest her (with probable cause) even if he has not witnessed her performing the act. In other words, if enough folks come forward and state that they've been screwed out of over $400 total with sufficient corroborating detail for probable cause, she can be arrested and charged.

C'mon, DPD! Investigate and act. —TomGarberson

2010-05-27 02:23:04   This was posted on The Davis Voice comments section by someone purporting to be "Crying Girl": 

yah ive been stopped by the cops three times and walked away. i bought my truck for $4500 a 2 bedroom house! 
THANX EVERYBODY for being so generous with the GREAT amount of money you have given me thanks again because
im going to hawaii in 2 weeks also for an acting job. i saved up $12,538 not including my truck or trip! thanx guys love ya
and lol thanx for making me FAMOUS!!! HA HA
look for me on the movies soon because you guys doing this showed my entertainment agency just how really great i am
and i have 3 jobs lined up including one in HAWAII! this was all part of my project for my agency to see how great i can
act and u citizens definetly paid for my beautiful portfolio!
p.s camera man we kno where u rest yur head good luck
EVERYONE ELSE ON HERE AND WHO STARTED THIS FUNNY S#^% THANX FOR THE ATTENTION(love it) &&
GET A F&#*(# LIFE LONER/LOSER NERD HAVE FUN [with] MY BEAUTIFUL PICTURE ABOVE!!
LOVE ALWAYS && FOREVER
YOUR RICH B(#*$ “CRYING GIRL”"

[WWW]http://www.davisvoice.com/2010/05/crying-girl-grifter-at-large-in-davis/comment-page-1/#comment-307

2010-05-26 19:58:49   My wish is that the DPD does a quick undercover thing to get Amber and the 2 guys she works with. They could stakeout a parking lot that they're in, get approached by Amber, take her down while other plain clothes officers get the 2 guys before they can drive off. —jsbmeb

2010-05-29 23:22:16   The Crying Girl has approached me twice in the parking lot of the Fairfield/Green Valley Safeway. Once around 9-10pm outside of Safeway a couple of months ago and again tonight in front of CVS in the same shopping center about 8pm. I didn't quite believe her story the first time (her and her boyfriend got in a fight and he ditched her there and she needed money for a hotel room). I told her no and she moved on. Tonight I heard her crying as I was walking back to my car. I think she had just approached a man who turned her down and she moved on to me and my kids. I told her she's unbelievable, this is the second time she's approached me. She sobbed "I didn't" but walked away quickly. Thought later I should have gotten a picture of her or called the police. —JessiG

2010-05-30 16:04:37   I was approached by Crying Girl about 10PM on May 16th, 2010 in the Davis Marketplace parking lot in front of CVS. Her story was that she needed train fare to get to her mother's in San Diego. When I declined, she got beligerant and said "you don't have a heart". It seems like she's the one that does not have a heart. —TurboCat

2010-05-31 11:49:28   My roommate and I were tricked by this crying girl a while back. :( Makes me sad, because this makes it hard to interpret who needs help and is being truthful these days. >_< —PaulV

2010-06-01 00:37:40   Hey I found another lead... check out [WWW]her brother's myspace. She's in this album. Apparently her brother is a bad apple too — arrested for robbing banks in the area. Lovely family. —GregMed

2010-06-01 08:44:06   Scott Johnson, the robber? [WWW]Check this out. He was wanted for credit union robberies, considered armed and dangerous. $250,000 warrant for his arrest as of Nov 2009. The [WWW]followup, turned himself in in December. Booked on three counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted robbery. Good to see he's moved up in the world. More seriously, isn't what he's doing with his sister some sort of violation? I know James filed called the police about the girl, but if this is the same guy that was spraying "deodorant mace" and threatening him...can't the police do anything about that? —EdWins

2010-06-01 13:43:19   Crying girl approached me twice in one night a few months ago. I felt like there was something fishy about the situation. I thought she was trippin on drugs. When she first approached me on the corner of F and 3rd Street she pulled the whole homeless pitch, needing a train ticket to get to her mom in San Diego. I gave her a dollar from my wallet and told her that was all I had. She pointed at my ATM card and proceeded to ask me to get her more money. I said no way. She got more aggressive telling me there is an atm across the street and she will walk with me. I said no way and walked away. After spending a few hours in Bistro I proceeded to walk back to my car in the parking lot near kinkos/fed ex. She approached me a second time and pulled the same story. I told her she already approached me that night. She told me no she didnt, the jacket she was wearing was just the same as lots. I said no. She wailed into the air PLEASE and tripped over a curb. At this point I thought she was coming off some drug induced high and was desperate for money to buy more drugs. Who knew she was an actual con artist. Karma will come back and get her and when she needs help most no one will be there. —melibelly83

2010-06-03 01:18:59   In my experience with the crying girl the guy on the far right of the picture was the suburban driving guy, I know because he tried to pull through to our parking space and nearly hit our car and then appoligized to us. He is also in on it. Anybody else seen that guy? If so, I think we should note that in the picture—ChrisDietrich

2010-06-02 11:23:24   Crying girl is totally ruining my game. I fly a sign over by CVS pharmacy in North Davis either saying "Dogfood" or "Cany all rent anything helps" and I'm NOT lying. I work at Tuesday Morning in South Davis and make like $150/two weeks, that doesn't cover $500/mo. You know? Crying girl is making us all out to seem like liars and it really sucks because I don't want to end up homeless again, yes, I am looking for a second job with no luck. That girl pisses me off, will she be arrested soon? I hope. —Mogitha

2010-06-02 13:16:03   Come on guys, I reviewed the myspace pictures and the facebook pictures, they look EXACTLY like the girl who was hucking cement. —EdwardNiemand

2010-06-03 07:45:18   It wouldn't be a major problem for most of us being scamed for $5 or so. Even $35 is not a lifetime error if given to this abuser. It could be for poor people that are, nevertheless, compassive and give help to her. The scary thing is the "guardian angel" she seems to work along with. This tells things about level of organization, premeditation and so. I don't usually blame scammers when they catch a greedy person who agrees on go beyond the limits to get an advantage... but this is not the case. This girl (and people of her kind) target on the most beautiful thing we have in our hearts: compassion. The guardian angel and the loss of compassion are the major threats I feel here.

2010-06-03 11:55:28   I was approached by the Crying Girl/retard in February, at the Safeway in North Davis. She was sobbing big crocodile tears, telling me about how her boyfriend kicked her out and she needed a train ticket, blah, blah, blah. I could tell she was full of shit, so I gave her a dollar just to piss her off and suggested she find a new boyfriend. She didn't get mad, though. Just walked away. —janellemacdonald1

2010-06-23 11:23:00   Wow, so yesterday my friend has just drove up from San Jose and stops in Dixon to pick up some stuff at a 7-eleven. A girl with make-up streaming down her face, completely sobbing, boobs falling out of her shirt runs up to him and begs for money. He doesn't exactly rememeber what she said, mainly the boobs part, lol. So I ask him if he gave her 5 bucks or something, and he said he didn't. I thought, what a jerk! Right?

But then, today, he sends me this link - [WWW]http://gawker.com/5570130/meet-crying-girl-californias-celebrity-grifter - through facebook. It's THAT GIRL, and I was surprised to see Daviswiki cited on an east coast-based website! So we learn new stuff everyday, don't trust people asking for help, and sometimes new yorkers care about what's going on in Davis.

[This situation is too bad though, recently I forgot my wallet at the train station, I had my ticket but no wallet. I had to ask some guy for some money so I could get a bottle of water for my 8 hour train ride. I wonder if something like that happens again, if people will be so nice to help me out without thinking I'm a grifter] —someday909

2010-06-27 10:59:42   I'm going to defend my edit choice describing the content of the picture. It is necessary because many people I've talked to, including reporters, haven't realized that the object she is holding is a chunk of concrete. It is preferable to keep the picture associated with the original photographer's description, that he took the picture shortly before she threw the concrete. It is informative to readers of the wiki and helpful for their safety because it very clearly demonstrates that they should exercise caution when confronting this person. Finally, Scott, it is not provocative in any sense of the word; that caption I added is a neutral description of the action taking place in the photograph, and it provides information about the action going on during that snap which the still photograph cannot. It should stay. —EdwardNiemand

* I like Jabberwocky's edit. -EN

Not sure why this is still up... I'll delete tomorrow with William ban page.

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