I would say it is California specific, not quite the US. My cousins on the Mexican side of the border (our family stems from Cabo San Lucas all the way to San Francisco) say "Cagar el Palo" which is a literal translation.
You get lots of odd sayings growing up in border regions.
"Talking Masa" is another one. Masa is the spanish word for dough, so ... talking dough? Which is what you say when someone is "talking shit" which is of course another idiom for people ... talking shit. lol.
I would have thought that it was taking money!