Mystery Mall Man Showers New Jersey Shoppers With Cash

A mystery benefactor made it rain money for shoppers at a mall when he threw fistfuls of cash over a balcony as he called out, "Happy Mother's Day, everyone!"

The unusual celebration gift was captured on camera and a few delighted squeals could be heard from the floor below as bemused mall visitors rushed to pick up the free cash.

The excitement happened at 1:20 p.m. on Sunday (May 8) at the Freehold Raceway Mall in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Just like Santa Claus, the man sported a beard, although his hair was brown and he wore blue jeans, a dark sweater, and a baseball cap.

He pulled handfuls of cash from a red Wawa bag that seemed to be filled with it.

He cried out: "Happy Mother's Day, everyone! Happy Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day, everyone! I hope everyone's having a good day! Happy Mother's Day!"

And then, having apparently exhausted his supply of money, he waved to the crowd and called: "Bye!" The video was posted online by local news outlet NJ Advance Media.

Shopper Sarah Mostafa told the website that she was in line at the Starbucks on the first floor and saw the whole incident unfolding as the man stood on the second floor above her.

She said: "Some people thought it was confetti, and then they took a closer look, like, 'Wait, that's actually money!' Afterward, he just left. It was like a little Santa Claus moment!"

She said she decided not to lose her place in line at the Starbucks and so did not run to gather up some of the bills flittering down from above. She said: "I figured if somebody really needs it, they would go get it."

Another woman next to her in the line told her that the same man "does this a few times a year on holidays," Mostafa added. "Apparently he just likes to give away money!"

Newsweek has contacted the mall for further information.

There was some speculation the man may have been filming himself too, possibly to upload a video on social media at a later date.

Local radio station 94.5 PST posted about the incident on its website, with a commentator writing: "He looks to be recording himself 'making it rain' with his phone held somewhat upright in one hand. I wouldn't be surprised if his footage shows up on YouTube or TikTok somewhere."

"If or when he does, we'll know who this charitable soul is. In any case, he looks so joyful and happy doing this, and you can tell by the audio that he definitely made everyone's day a little more exciting by putting a smile on people's faces; and a little more money in their pockets!"

Some readers may be surprised that Mostafa decided against picking up the free money, and that a stampede did not form with desperate shoppers trying to grab what they could.

But a social experiment conducted in August 2015, in London, showed just three out of 10 people accepted no-strings cash from strangers.

Londoners were offered up to £50 (almost $62) by a stranger, but despite being one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, the majority declined the offer.

The experiment was also conducted in the cities of Brighton and Manchester, and in total 600 people across all three cities were offered free cash, with a total of 55 percent rejecting it. Many suspected the offer was too good to be true.