So, picture this: you’re at a nice restaurant, enjoying a delicious meal with your friends or family. You finish up, ask for the bill, and suddenly… the person you were dining with starts clutching their chest, wincing in pain, and gasping for breath. Panic sets in as you realize they might be having a heart attack. But wait, something seems off. This scenario might sound like a scene from a bad sitcom, but believe it or not, it happened.
A 50-year-old Lithuanian man living in Spain was busted for faking heart attacks in over 20 restaurants to avoid paying the bills. Yes, you read that right. This guy went to extreme lengths to get out of footing the bill, going as far as pretending he was having a medical emergency.
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It’s unclear how this man got away with it for so long, but restaurant staff eventually caught on to his scheme. And let’s just say they were not too pleased. Can you imagine the embarrassment and inconvenience this must have caused for everyone involved? Not to mention the strain it put on emergency services that had to respond to his fake emergencies.
The man, whose name has not been released, was arrested last month in Alicante after attempting to leave a restaurant without settling his bill by pretending to become unwell, local police said.
It was the 20th such incident within a year, making the man well-known to the local police force, a spokesperson for Alicante National Police told Insider.
In the most recent incident, the man ordered two whiskeys and seafood paella at El Buen Corner, receiving a bill for 34.85 euros, or around $36.75, at the end of his meal, according to Spain’s EFE news agency.
The manager of the restaurant, Moisés Doménech, told EFE that a colleague noticed the man attempting to dine-and-dash and informed him of the outstanding bill.
The man claimed he was going to his hotel room to get cash but restaurant staff refused to let him leave without paying, the manager said, per EFE.
According to the news agency, the man then dramatically threw himself to the ground and pretended to have a heart attack.
The restaurant staff didn’t fall for the ruse and called the police, with officers recognizing the man instantly, EFE reported.
The spokesperson for Alicante National Police confirmed to Insider that the man was a repeat offender: “He was arrested multiple times in the city of Alicante. The modus operandi was the same,” she said.
After refusing to provide an address, the man was taken into custody, and the case was handed over to the local judiciary.
The police spokesperson informed Insider that they were aware of the man being sent to prison, though they didn’t know how long for, or if he was now free.
According to EFE, which cited an officer who had arrested the man on four previous occasions, he orders expensive items like lobster, entrecote, and premium whiskeys.
The officer, who was not named, noted that the man usually greeted officers with a smile and appeared unfazed about spending a night or two behind bars.
Now the next time you’re out dining with friends and someone starts clutching their chest in agony, maybe take a closer look before you rush to their aid. You never know, they might just be another wannabe escape artist trying to pull a fast one on the restaurant staff. And who knows, you might just witness the next bizarre headline in the making.
