Following allegations that he staged heart attacks at 20 different eateries around the nation to get out from under the debt, a Lithuanian man was taken into custody in Spain.
The anonymous fifty-year-old man allegedly conned at least twenty restaurants, most of which were in the Costa Blanca area of Spain, by acting as though he was having a heart attack.
He would place an exaggerated theatrical show, holding his chest and appearing to pass out on the floor, after ordering food and drinks. The con was a hit until a business owner saw how phoney the man was and began posting pictures of him in other area eateries as a warning to other patrons not to fall for his heart-attack gimmick.
The Lithuanian man was enjoying some seafood paella and a couple whisky shots at El Buen Comer, an Alicante restaurant, last month when the staff delivered him the 34.85 euros bill.
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.
The wait staff at the restaurant saw through the theatrical play and called the cops instead of 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 restaurant owners, according to Spanish media. 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.
Source: Oddity