"50s Who Said 'I Reserved It, Lend Me Tow Fee' Caught by Police Who Recognized Past Fraud Method"

A Man in His 50s Defrauded About 300,000 Won from 7 Restaurants
Also Showed Cunning by Making Reservations via Public Phone

A man in his 50s who deceived small restaurant owners by pretending to be a reservation customer and embezzled tens of thousands of won was caught by the police.

On the 15th, the Daejeon Jungbu Police Station announced that they had arrested and sent Mr. A, in his 50s, to prosecution on charges of habitual fraud. From the 10th of last month for two weeks, Mr. A visited restaurants near traditional markets in Dong-gu and Jung-gu, Daejeon, making phone reservations and then arriving at the reserved time. He then lied that his vehicle had been towed and borrowed towing fees and taxi fares from the restaurant owners, which he did not repay.

Mr. A, who lied that his car was towed and is borrowing money from the restaurant owner. [Image source=Daejeon Police Agency YouTube]

According to video footage of the incident, on the 18th of last month, Mr. A told a restaurant owner, "I was going to park, but my car was towed. If you lend me cash, I will settle the bill after the meal." After receiving 30,000 won from the owner, he mentioned taxi fare and demanded an additional 10,000 won. The restaurant owner gave him the extra 10,000 won, but Mr. A did not return to the restaurant.

He told restaurant owners that "the parked vehicle was towed, and if they lent towing fees, he would pay after the meal," extorting a total of 305,000 won from seven restaurants. To avoid being identified, Mr. A only made reservations from public phones and, upon arrival, collected restaurant business cards, showing meticulousness in pretending to be a 'real customer.'

Police who responded to reports identified Mr. A through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage. It was found that Mr. A had already been imprisoned for the same crime and was released in December last year before committing the same offense again. During the police investigation, Mr. A stated, "I decided to commit the crime because the living expenses given in prison ran out after my release." The police said, "We had previously arrested Mr. A for the vehicle towing scam, and since the method of this crime was exactly the same, we were confident that the suspect was Mr. A."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.