THE BUNK MONKS: Fake Buddhist Clergy Solicit ‘Donations’ on The Strip

Posted on: January 27, 2025, 12:01h. 

Last updated on: January 27, 2025, 02:25h.

Stroll the Las Vegas Strip for a half hour and you’ll run into any number of people generating income as costumed characters. They’re not really misrepresenting themselves, other than probably to the IRS. Everyone knows they’re not really Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, or a showgirl. (Those went extinct in Las Vegas after “Jubilee!” closed in 2016.) It’s a different story, however, with what we like to call the bunk monks.

These men are posing as Buddhist monks on the Las Vegas Strip as part of a tourist scam that breaks at least two of the five basic precepts of Buddhism. (Image: X/BlairG_YVR)

All the Buddhist monks you see on the Strip are costumed characters, too, but they’re pretending to be the genuine article.

Instead of offering you a selfie in exchange for a tip, the bunk monks will hand you a card, medallion, or trinket — or, if you venture closely enough, actually wrap a bracelet around your wrist — claiming the item to have spiritual significance.

Since the exchange appears to be a gift, many Vegas visitors accept it, thank the monk, and walk away. These people then find themselves followed by an insistent fake monastic demanding donations to a temple that doesn’t exist.

He doesn’t insist on one or two dollars, either, but $10 or $20. And he’ll become increasingly aggressive until he gets it.

No one who isn’t aware of the phenomenon suspects a Buddhist monk of being a scam artist — and that’s exactly why this scam works so well.

The Dharma Bums

This bunk monk tries handing a worthless medallion to social media influencer Vegas Starfish, who knows better. (Image: X/VegasStarfish)

Fundraising is necessary to maintain any house of worship, but this is accomplished in Buddhism via structured, community-supported systems.

Not one of the 22 Buddhist temples in Las Vegas sanctions its members to solicit donations on the Strip.

Moreover, the majority of Buddhist sects around the globe prohibit their monks from even handling money. This helps them maintain their spiritual purity and detachment from worldly affairs.

For the few sects that permit the practice, you will see their monks standing in silence, either chanting, meditating, or otherwise avoiding eye contact as donations are dropped in a bowl at their feet.

There is no legitimate Buddhist sect known to aggressively panhandle.

What’s more, Las Vegas has specific ordinances that prohibit aggressive panhandling, which includes any behavior that might cause a reasonable person to feel intimidated, threatened, or coerced into giving money.

Examples of aggressive panhandling include:

  • Blocking someone’s path
  • Using threatening language or gestures
  • Touching someone without consent
  • Following someone after they have refused to give money
This Shaolin monk’s robe costs $40 on Amazon, where Buddhist prayer bracelets sell for as little as $2 each. (Image: Amazon)

The bunk monks do all these things and more on the Strip, yet none have reportedly ever been arrested in Las Vegas.

“It happened to me today in Vegas, and boy, have I learned my lesson,” @TryumphantOne posted to the Las Vegas subreddit last March. “The monk approached me and gave me a peace card, and I thanked him. He asked me to sign a book while giving me a bracelet, then asked me to donate to … honestly, who knows what?

“I didn’t have cash on me, which I told him… I was already around the corner when I heard him behind me yelling to come back. He caught up with me, asking for the bracelet back (and) attempted to try and grab my arm.

“What resonated for me at this point was the look in his eyes — it was unhinged, sheer insanity… As I walked away, his nerve to ask again for a donation was one of the most shocking, yet unsurprising, things I’ve heard in a minute.”

Scam-a-lot

In 2019, the High Line in New York City put up this warning for visitors, which included photos of bunk monks. (Image: viewing.nyc)

It’s not just a Las Vegas scam, nor is it a new one. Reports of bunk monks have surfaced from tourist hubs across the US — as well as in Canada, Australia, and China — since at least 2014. That year, nine were arrested in New York City on charges of aggressive begging and unlicensed vending, according to the New York Times.

“They’re not authentic,” Michelle Dunson, a rep for the Buddhist Council of New York — which represents two dozen Buddhist temples there — told CBS at the time. “They’re not real. They’re playing on people’s heart strings. It’s basically a scam like any other.”

Attempts to ascertain whether bunk monks act alone or as part of a larger scam organization have never amounted to much. In 2016, the Associated Press asked seven of the robed men soliciting in Times Square for whom the donations were for.

Each claimed it was for a temple in Thailand, but none would provide its exact name or location.

All the men refused to give their names, AP reported, and ran off when pressed for answers.

To protect yourself against other scams while visiting Las Vegas, read Casino.org‘s list of the Top 5 Vegas Scams.