Tag Archives: Theft By Deception

by | April 12, 2013 · 6:38 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: East Coast Hotels Victimized By Man Who “Skipped Out On Hotel Bills” While Posing As Corporate Employee; $60,000 For A Presidential Suite

“…housekeepers found paperwork in the room belonging to (defendant)…a Residence Inn employee told police she received a call from Hotel Theft By DeceptionSerra in which he stated he would pay the bill if the Residence Inn would sign a waiver promising not to charge him with any crime. No agreement was made…Police then were notified the Residence Inn received an email from someone claiming to be a Raytheon employee, stating Serra would be staying there for 15 nights. The email address was identical to the one used in Serra’s February stay, police said…”

A Lowell man is accused of skipping out on bills in upscale hotels in seven states, running up charges while posing as an employee of major corporations.

In one case, prosecutors allege that in March, Michael Serra ran up a $60,000 bill for a stay in the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston under the name Dennis Colling. Serra allegedly said he worked for Citigroup, but does not.

When confronted by Tewksbury police and a U.S. Secret Service agent, Serra allegedly confessed to committing crimes up and down the East Coast for two to three years. The Residence Inn at 1775 Andover St., Tewksbury, reported that a person named Carter Whitmore, who represented himself as a Raytheon employee, skipped out on a $6,349 bill in February. Court documents state that Raytheon refused to pay for the room because it had no employee by that name.

For more:  http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_23010643/city-man-held-hotel-fraud

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by | August 31, 2012 · 6:29 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Pennsylvania Hotels Victimized By "Con Artist" Who Checked In, Charged Meals To Room And Then Left Without Paying

“…the man who passed as a hapless hotel guest was actually a skilled  con artist who claimed he had been robbed of his wallet to persuade  receptionists to let him have a room…he promised to pay the next day, offering a phony bank  statement as proof that he was good for it…”

Larry Raymond grew accustomed to the high life during his short stays in the  city’s finest hotels, where he dined in restaurants, patronized gift shops and  enjoyed a cup of Starbucks coffee now and then. He ran up hundreds of dollars in tabs — police said he spent more than  $1,500 at the Uptown Marriott — and had it all billed to his room.

But Mr. Raymond never settled up. Mr. Raymond’s lavish run came to an end late Wednesday when police arrested  him in Room 216 of the Cambria Suites in Uptown less than an hour after he  checked in. He told a manager his wallet and credit card had been stolen.

Mr. Raymond, 55, who has no permanent address, spent Thursday in the  Allegheny County Jail. Court records show he was unable to post $50,000  bail.

“He’s a nationwide con artist,” said Detective Jack Mook of the city’s Zone 2  police station, who began investigating Mr. Raymond’s suspicious stay in  Pittsburgh last week when the security director of the Omni William Penn  Downtown told him about a guest who claimed his wallet was stolen and skipped  out on a $753 bill.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/police-arrest-man-who-skipped-several-pittsburgh-hotel-bills-651267/#ixzz258KJUWtK

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by | April 16, 2012 · 1:31 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Payment Risks: New Jersey Hotel Is Victim Of $3900 "Theft By Deception"; Two Teens Stay In Room After Pretending To Be Placed By Social Services Agency

Police have determined that 19-year-old Joshua Walton of Barnegat and a 17-year-old girl had stayed in the room. Both were charged with theft by deception.

Authorities say two New Jersey teens pretended to be placed in a motel by a social services agency and then ran up a bill of $3,900.

Long Beach police tell the Asbury Park Press that a woman claiming to work for Ocean County Social Services called a motel last summer and requested a room for a couple and their child.

The motel owner agreed to house them for two weeks, but later learned that the woman who had made the arrangements did not work for the agency.

For more:  http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20120415/NEWS01/204150306/Police-Teens-ran-up-3-900-hotel-bill

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by | · 1:31 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Payment Risks: New Jersey Hotel Is Victim Of $3900 "Theft By Deception"; Two Teens Stay In Room After Pretending To Be Placed By Social Services Agency

Police have determined that 19-year-old Joshua Walton of Barnegat and a 17-year-old girl had stayed in the room. Both were charged with theft by deception.

Authorities say two New Jersey teens pretended to be placed in a motel by a social services agency and then ran up a bill of $3,900.

Long Beach police tell the Asbury Park Press that a woman claiming to work for Ocean County Social Services called a motel last summer and requested a room for a couple and their child.

The motel owner agreed to house them for two weeks, but later learned that the woman who had made the arrangements did not work for the agency.

For more:  http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20120415/NEWS01/204150306/Police-Teens-ran-up-3-900-hotel-bill

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