Sunday, July 1, 2012

Report: Homeless man scammed luxury hotel stays at others' expense

By msnbc.com staff

A homeless man is accused by police of living the high life in hotels, racking up thousands of dollars on other people’s credit cards, according to a report in Florida.

Drifter David Price was arrested on Friday and is being held at the Orange County Jail in Orlando, according to WTFV.


The station said Price would apparently watch hotel guests leave their rooms before slipping inside and claiming to be the guest, calling the front desk and extending the stay, sometimes by 10 days.

Despite being homeless for two years, he had managed to stay at others’ expense in top hotels including The Ritz Carlton, Hard Rock Hotel and Loews Portofino Bay. 

At the latter, Price allegedly racked up nearly $9,000 in charges on the credit card of Ohio man Joseph Barak, WFTV said.

 “I don’t know how he got in my room, how he got my debit card.  But he got like the best wines, the best restaurants, room service.  He got clothes and the whole ball of wax,” said Barak, was later able to get his money back.

Police reports indicate that investigators at Walt Disney World have also looked into possible fraud by Price, the station said.

The report could not immediately be confirmed with local police.

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