EPISODE · Nov 2, 2022 · 19 MIN

Behind the Investigation - Bogus Beggar

from The WAVE Troubleshooters - Behind the Investigation

Gary Thompson doesn’t like talking to me anymore. To understand why, we have to go back to 2014.“I appreciate you guys busting me,” Thompson said. “Y’all really good at it. I average about $100,000 a year doing this.”While Lexington police held a press conference to warn people about a guy faking a mental disability act to rake in big bucks, that guy was demonstrating it right outside.“Mm... mm... money,” Thompson stuttered, then smiled and straightened up. “I gotta go y’all, gotta make some money.”He was jailed and chased out of places all around Kentucky and earned the nickname, “The Bogus Beggar.”“If you can help me whenever I ask for money I won’t act mental,” Thompson said in a story that aired years ago.