Man arrested after faking heart attacks to avoid paying the bill at 20 restaurants

A man was arrested after faking heart attacks in more than 20 restaurants so he could avoid paying the bill.

50-year-old Aidas, who is originally from Lithuania, scammed a number of restaurants in Alicante, Spain, where he now lives by pretending to be ill.

One restaurant owner said Aidas had several glasses of White Label whiskey and a Russian salad before pretending to be struck by a heart attack.

His checks would amount to €15 ($15), €30 ($31) or even €70 ($73) euros. In total, he apparently owed €766 ($800) in unpaid restaurant bills.

Speaking to The Sun, the manager of one restaurant named El Buen Comer described the act as 'very theatrical'.

He pretended to faint and slumped himself down on the floor," he said.

The manager managed to get a picture of Aidas as he carried out the routine, and sent it around to other restaurants in the area to 'try and stop him from striking again'.

Confirming that they'd received the photo, a worker at Sale&Pepe restaurant said: "We’ve all received a warning with his photo telling us to be careful and to not serve him anything."

Another restaurant worker told El País: “He lay down on the floor, acted as if his chest hurt and began to shake."

Aidas went so far as to receive medical attention, before later apparently trying to hit the same restaurant again.

The second time he tried, we told him not to do it again,” they said.

According to Caso Abierto, Aidas had faked heart attacks for two months, throughout which he didn't pay a single euro for what he'd ordered.

He was arrested 20 times but was released each time after a short period as his crimes were considered 'minor', due to the fact he only owed a small amount of money to each restaurant.

But then he was hit with a bigger sentence and was ordered to spend 22 days behind bars for failing to pay two fines for his crimes.

What a scam.

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