I heard this on drive-time radio as it happened. What brought the cops to come nosing around (initially) was that the "honest" panhandlers were upset that the beauties had muscled in on "their" corner.
The ladies had a mutual male friend with a cell phone and SUV nearby case anything bad went down. Drivers said on the radio that it was a pleasant change from the usual homeless panhandlers.
Well, some of the homeless panhandlers we've seen while commuting are very rough looking. There is one we see who would make Willie Nelson look like a king.