In Spain, a 50-year-old Lithuanian man locally known as the “gastrojeta” has been arrested and accused of faking heart attacks in an effort to get out of paying restaurant bills!
According to Spain’s EFE news agency, the situation unfolded last month in a touristy section of the city of Alicante.
Moisés Doménech — the manager of the establishment, El Buen Comer — says the man entered and casually requested a seafood dish and a couple of whiskeys.
However, an unnamed employee eventually noticed the customer was trying to dine-and-dash and confronted him. In turn, the 50-year-old reportedly said he was going to retrieve money from his hotel room, though the employee didn’t budge.
At that point, the man is accused of flopping onto the ground and dramatically feigning a heart attack. He allegedly requested that the establishment contact an ambulance for him, though they instead called the police.
Once officers arrived at the scene, the man reportedly reiterated his ambulance request. However, he was swiftly recognized and taken into custody.
In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson for the Alicante National Police confirmed the “gastrojeta” was a repeat offender. It’s also noted that the city has had twenty instances of the ruse going down in the past year.
One responding officer claimed to have arrested the man on four prior occasions, with the first incident occurring in November 2022.
Insider reports that, while the Alicante National Police spokesperson confirms that the man was jailed, the specifics remain unclear.