Prom Grinch: Woman, Daughter Allegedly Make Off With 20 Dresses Meant For Needy Teens
HALEDON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A Haledon shop was offering prom dresses to teens in need.
Now the charity says someone took advantage of their generosity.
There are some grinches on the loose in Haledon. A mother-daughter duo allegedly took way more than their fair share at a prom dress giveaway.
They were caught on camera taking off from a charity event with a bunch of prom dresses meant for teenage girls who can't afford them.
The mother and daughter have their hands full of prom dresses they swiped that were meant for teens from less fortunate families. They were caught on video taking two trips with dresses to their luxury SUV, armed with gowns they greedily took from a free giveaway Sunday.
"You can't do this. It's unethical and it's not fair," said Valerie Freeman, who organized the event.
Freeman says though the dresses were free, the women did indeed steal something of great value.
"Our main goal is to retrieve the dresses from the lady because there are still some students that need prom dresses," Freeman said. "The event was to help out the less fortunate and help the parents to waive the cost."
Paterson Cares hosted the event where they provided 500 donated dresses that were free to any young lady with a school ID. The rules were simple: One per customer.
Surveillance video shows the two culprits making off with around 20. The two were getting so greedy, Nancy Grier or Paterson Cares caught on.
"We just ran out the door to ask her to bring those dresses back. Unfortunately, she pulled off very, very fast," Grier said.
Grier snapped a picture of her car, which she shared with local authorities.
The Haledon Police took a report from the owner of La Neve's Banquets. Freeman says she will file charges if she doesn't get those dresses back, but that's not what anybody wants to happen.
"I would love for her to return the dresses. I'm not trying to put anybody in jail. It's just the principle behind it," Freeman said.
"She should bring the dresses back and do some community service work with us," Grier said.
The ladies have shared the videos on social media, hoping someone will come forward with information.
Despite the women making off with the dresses, Paterson Cares gave away more than 300 dresses.
If you'd like to make a donation to help Paterson Cares, click here.