A mystery philanthropist leaving bundles of cash hidden around a US town has finally been unmasked.
The Good Samaritan turns out to be property tycoon Jason Buzi, who allegedly made millions during the US property downturn by buying repossessed homes cheap and selling them on for a profit.
Buzi admitted he was the secret millionaire donor when confronted by a local TV reporter who had tracked him down.
Over recent weeks, Buzi had left envelopes stuffed with cash all over the Californian town of Palo Alto.
To help people find the money, Buzi opened a @hiddencash Twitter account and left clues.
Money trail led to property tycoon
His tweets were followed by hundreds of thousands of people looking to gain from his largesse.
A 14-year-old schoolboy found $200 which he gave to his grandmother.
“I was poor once and I understand what it means to have money,” said Buzi. “I just wanted to give something back in my own way.
“I have had people ask me to pay off their mortgages, buy cars and settle debts, but that’s not going to happen.”
Buzi was involved with another cash giveaway in New York in 2008. Then, he hid money in boxes of fresh tomatoes in Times Square, which was besieged by thousands of people hoping to strike it rich.
Meanwhile, residents in Whitehall, Arkansas (Population 5,000) have developed the Midas Touch as gold flakes pours out of their taps when they switch on for drinking water.
Drinking water flecked with gold
And instead of running the taps for hours to build up some cash, they are worried about their health.
Water company scientists are testing the drinking water to see if they can discover where the gold flecks are coming from.
Residents are scared that if they have gold in their water, other more lethal chemicals may be lurking unseen and affecting their health.
Tests have already proved the metallic flakes in the water are gold.
The town has two wells, but so far only a few families have reported gold in their water supply.
Just outside Whitehall is a working gold mine, but water officials say that the metal cannot enter the water supply from the mine.
“The most likely conclusion is this gold is flaking off some machinery somewhere between the water supply and the houses where it’s coming through the taps,” said a spokesman.
“We are working hard to try to identify where this might be so we can solve the mystery.”
