Lavish P, however, is now in a legal soup.

By Deepak Chitnis

WASHINGTON, DC: A new sensation is taking the US and UK by storm: contests that lead the participants through major cities, following clues given to them via text message, that ultimately ends with the contestant winning free money.

That’s right – even though Christmas is half-a-year away, ’tis the season of giving, as anonymous benefactors have been dropping free money on random individuals around the world. Often times, a contest or scavenger hunt isn’t even necessary, as envelopes of cash have been found by unsuspecting denizens of New York, Las Vegas, and London.

The craze of giving away free money may be new to most people, but this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this happening. In fact, just last year, an Indian American from Northern California gained fame – and, some would say, notoriety – for doing the very same thing: Lavish P.

Related Story: An Internet sensation who looks down on the poor, but who is Lavish P?

For those of you who don’t remember, Lavish P – who may or may not be Param Sanjay Sharma – debuted on the social media scene last year, under the avatar of ItsLavishBitch. With a Twitter, Instagram, and personal website, Lavish P took the Internet by storm, posting pictures of himself partaking in all sorts of wealthy activities including staying at five star hotels, sleeping with bags of money, and drinking enough Starbucks coffee to single-handedly keep the company solvent.

But additionally, Lavish P would create contests in which he would just give away money, all of which was actually his parents’. At times, he wouldn’t even go to the trouble of creating a contest, and would just give away money to “peasants,” which is what he called people who were lower than him on the financial ladder.

So what happened to Lavish P? Reports surfaced that he was facing legal action for creating fake contests and promising money to people he never ended up paying. On Twitter, Lavish P has fallen off the map, with no tweets appearing on his profile since February 19, while his last Instagram post came in May.

But regardless of what happened to Lavish P, and despite what one may think of him as a person (people tend to be split on whether he’s amusing or a jerk), Lavish P may have inadvertently set off a trend of giving away money, and the trend could spread to all corners of the globe.

Jason Buzi, whose Twitter handle is @HiddenCash, is behind the free money endeavor in Las Vegas. Other such schemes have been seen in Houston, New York, Chicago, and Mexico City. Buzi says he not only enjoys doing it, but hopes to spread to other cities and, eventually, other countries in Europe and Asia.

So next time you’re taking a walk through the city, keep your eyes peeled – you never know what you could find.