Emily Chan
Over a span of 10 months, a Welsh couple racked up around $1,400 in unpaid restaurant bills after dining in for expensive meals and dashing when it was time to pay.
They even used their children to further their scheme. A judge sentenced them to prison for fraud, stating that their actions were fueled by “pure and utter greed.”
The couple was a 41-year-old man named Bernard McDonagh and his 39-year-old wife, Ann, from Port Talbot.
They have six children together. During their dine-and-dash spree, they targeted four restaurants and a Chinese takeout business.
At an Italian restaurant called Bella Ciao in Swansea, they ordered T-bone steaks and double portions of dessert.
After eating, they left without paying the check, which came out to a total of about $410. Additionally, the Golden Fortune Chinese Takeaway lost $124 to the couple.
Another restaurant in Swansea, the River House, claimed that the pair had run up a bill of roughly $338.
To make matters worse, whenever their card was declined for insufficient funds, Bernard and Ann would leave some of their children behind in the restaurant while they supposedly went to retrieve more money.
However, they never came back to pay for the meal, and eventually, the kids would have to run out.
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