A Lithuanian man was detained in Spain after it was claimed that he staged heart attacks at 20 different restaurants around the nation in order to avoid paying.
The unidentified 50-year-old man allegedly staged a heart attack to defraud at least 20 restaurants, the most of which were in Spain’s Costa Blanca.
He would put on an exaggerated theatrical display after placing his meal and drink orders, holding his chest and pretending to pass out on the floor.
The con worked like a charm up until one business owner recognized the man’s act and began posting pictures of him in other nearby restaurants as a warning to them not to fall for his heart attack routine.
The man was consuming seafood paella at El Buen Comer in Alicante last month. and many shots of alcohol upon receiving the 34.85 euros ($37) bill from the staff.
He simply got up and tried to leave when the server left the table, but he was stopped and told he still needed to pay the bill.
The con artist was obviously unhappy and claimed he would retrieve the money from his hotel room, but the attendants would not allow him to exit.
At this moment, he began to pretend to be having a heart attack.
El Buen Comer’s boss described it as “very theatrical, he pretended to faint and slumped down on the floor.”
“We are attempting to prevent him from striking again by distributing his picture in all restaurants.”
None of the restaurants employees fell. for the play, and they informed the police rather than dialing an ambulance.
The man, who appeared sick, begged for help when the police came, not realizing that they had already recognized him from previous encounters at other Alicante eateries.
The 50-year-old man is reportedly already rather well-known among Costa Blanca restaurant owners, according to Spanish media.
He was initially observed in Alicante in November 2022, and since then, his heart attack routine has made him well-known. Most of the time, he gets away with not paying the bill, but he doesn’t seem to mind if the cops get called.
Probably because he is aware of how little of them there are, he constantly smiles when he sees them.
Having deceived numerous restaurant owners with his fictitious heart attacks, the con artist might be up against his greatest obstacle to date.
His actions are seen as trivial because the expenses he typically seeks to avoid are small—a few tens of euros—and the consequences accordingly.
He only spends a night in jail most of the time, and he seems OK with that.
But several restaurant owners intend to band together and submit a combined complaint, which might result in the man serving up to two years in prison.
