Serial ‘dine-and-dasher’ arrested for targeting California sushi restaurants — wracked up nearly $1K in unpaid tabs. How the cost gets passed along when someone skips out on their bill

And customers dining and skipping out on their bills is just one form of customer-related fraud that restaurant owners face. Some restaurants have also been the target of virtual dine-and-sash scams, with scammers placing orders through food delivery services like DoorDash, picking them up and then submitting claims to the app that they never received their order or disputing the charge with their credit card company.

With the recent arrest in Campbell, local business owners hope that these incidents will decrease.

Diner visited various locations multiple times

According to ABC7 News, the man, whose identity has yet to be revealed, was taken into custody by police after his fourth dine-and-dash attempt at the Campbell, California, location. He allegedly visited several Sushi Confidential locations, ordered food and drinks, then left without paying.

“It’s a minimum of $500 or $600 and it may be up towards $1,000 when we’re pulling additional receipts,” Musterer told ABC7. The total of the unpaid food and drinks costs is significant due to California Penal Code 357, which specifically relates to dining and dashing. Known as “defrauding an innkeeper,” potential fines and jail time depend on whether the total value exceeds $950.

The restaurant owner believes the suspect had dined and dashed at least three times between Sushi Confidential’s Campbell and San Jose locations. He’d pulled an image of the man from his security cameras and posted it in the restaurant’s back area, along with receipts of the tabs he’d walked out on.

And so when the diner came in for a fourth time, staff were able to recognize him and call Musterer, who then brought in the local police. After a short chase, the police were able to apprehend him. The man, a local of Campbell, was cited and released pending his court date.

How restaurant fraud affects businesses

While one unpaid meal may not seem like a major problem, repeated incidents of theft, like Sushi Confidential's, can significantly impact restaurants, especially family-owned establishments. Restaurants are known for operating on slim profit margins, which average between 3% and 5%.

When businesses repeatedly lose money from unpaid meals and other forms of theft or fraud, those margins narrow even further and they sometimes adjust their prices to compensate. For customers, this can mean higher menu prices, additional service fees or stricter payment policies.