‘RIP Johnny:’ Man and teens raised funeral money for boy who’s alive, Calif. cops say

Heartfelt, handwritten messages were scrawled on the signs, which three donation-seekers held earlier this week on a highway in Victorville, California, according to police.

“RIP Johnny,” one sign read, alongside a picture of a boy — presumably Johnny — wearing camouflage pants and holding a toy in his small hands.

“Anything Help’s!”

“Thank you & God Bless!”

Hearts were drawn in between the various pleas for money.

The problem with the signs? The boy in the picture isn’t dead.

Richard Navarrete, 20, and two male 14-year-olds used the signs to fraudulently seek donations along U.S. Highway 395 on Sept. 17, according to the Victorville Police Department.

The boy pictured on the signs is the (very much alive) son of one of Navarrete’s friend, police said.

All three were arrested after police approached them. Navarrete was booked at High Desert Detention Center on theft by false pretense charges. The two teenagers were taken to High Desert Juvenile Detention Center on the same charges, according to police.

Each was holding his own sign pleading for donations, according to police.

The trio also had “water bottles containing money that had been donated as a result of the fraudulent signs,” police said.

A victim of the fraudulent scheme was located nearby and spoke to officers, the department said. Police released photos of the sign and the suspects so anyone else who was taken in by the scam can come forward with more information. The faces of the juveniles in the picture are blurred out.

One Victorville resident said the scam didn’t come as much of a surprise, KABC reports.

“This is not anything new because that has happened before, and I think it is very sad,” said Becky Lindsey, according to the TV station.

This story was originally published September 19, 2018 at 1:05 PM with the headline "‘RIP Johnny:’ Man and teens raised funeral money for boy who’s alive, Calif. cops say."