An alleged “dine-and-dash” dater accused of repeatedly leaving restaurant bills unpaid is facing the possibility of 13 years in prison.<\/p>\n
Paul Gonzales is accused of taking “financial advantage” of at least 10 women he mostly met on dating apps or websites from May 2016 to April 2018.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors say he defrauded the women of more than $950 (\u00a3730) in total.<\/p>\n
The 45-year-old has pleaded not guilty to extortion, grand theft and other charges related to the abandoned bills.<\/p>\n
According to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Mr Gonzales would take his dates out for dinner<\/a>\u00a0at different restaurants around the Los Angeles area<\/p>\n He would then allegedly eat and drink before leaving without paying.<\/p>\n Eight of the women say they were forced to foot the bill, while in two other cases the restaurants picked up the tab, a statement from the district attorney’s office said.<\/p>\n News channel CBS said Mr Gonzales allegedly left his dates with bills for extravagant shrimp-and-steak filled meals.<\/p>\n One of his victims, who preferred to remain anonymous, told CBS she was “ecstatic” that Mr Gonzales was facing possible punishment.<\/p>\n “I hope he gets what he deserved,” she said.<\/p>\n Another woman, who also withheld her name, joked about Mr Gonzales’ new eating habits behind bars.<\/p>\n “He doesn’t have to worry about any meals now. He’s gonna get three square meals a day,” she told CBS.<\/p>\n The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Mr Gonzales also allegedly received services from a hair salon and again left without paying, in what authorities describe as a “separate and unrelated incident”.<\/p>\n Mr Gonzales, who appeared in court on 27 August, is being held on $315,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 7 September at the Los Angeles County Superior Court.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"