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After having cheated several high-end hotels across the country, 63-year-old savvy conman Vincent John’s luck ran out, when he tried to pull off a cheat-and-run game plan at a five star hotel at Navi Mumbai. The local police arrested John with a whopping 58 PAN and Aadhar cards.
Wanted in as many as 187 similar crimes in several parts of the country, the notorious ‘Bunty’ style fraudster
John taken into custody by the police on Tuesday, as he was preparing to escape after having cheated a five-star Hotel from the Tunga Hotels chain at Navi Mumbai.
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John, who hails from Tamil Nadu, was produced before a Thane court which remanded till December 18.
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His modus operandi
John’s modus operandi has been to stay in luxury hotels using his false identities, run up hefty bills and walk away whatever prized items he can lay hands on.
John’s attempt was no different when he checked into a high-profile suite and stayed at a five-star hotel from the Tunga Hotel chain between December 12 and 14 using a photocopy copy of his Aadhar card. During stay, he ordered costly cigarettes and liquor through hotel service.
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“During his stay at the hotel, John also booked a banquet hall for a dozen guests for business meet-cum-party scheduled on the evening of December 13 for which he placed orders for food and beverages. He even took a laptop from the hotel purportedly for a presentation,” Inspector Ravindra Patil said.
However, when no guests turned up at the banquet hall for the party. The hotel management got suspicious and looked out for John who by then had quietly fled the scene with the lap-top.
Arrested in Navi Mumbai
Having realised that it had been taken for a ride by John, the hotel management lodged a complaint with the Navi Mumbai. Without losing any time, the Navi Mumbai police formed a team which tracked John down to a hide-out along Ghodbunder Road at nearby Thane, where he was arrested on December 15.
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Patil said that John hails from ila-Uruddi in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. “John has been moving around with different nicknames. We have seized 58 PAN and Aadhar cards from him obtained by him using his fake nicknames. He has confessed that he would sell outside the expensive liquors, cigarettes and other stuff +that he picked up from hotels without clearing the bills from the deluxe hotels. He would sell the stuff to finance his lavish lifestyle that included air travel,” the Investigating Officer said.
The investigations have revealed that he has committed similar crimes in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other states and cities across the country.
