If that were the case then they wouldn't have shut down the scheme and arrested the perpetrators
See for example the practice of civil forfeiture in the US, where the police is able to seize your property until you prove that it wasn't gained through crime. The proceeds go directly to the police department. So the more passers-by they harass, the sooner the "pennies from heaven" will fund their margarita machine! [0]
[0]: https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/phelps-county-seizing-sus...