Married fraudsters who racked up huge restaurant bills and absconded without paying in a shocking ‘dine and dash’ wave have been jailed. Bernard McDonagh, 41, and Ann McDonagh, 39, were known to splurge on lavish three-course meals, including T-bone steaks, for their family, often leaving the food uneaten.
Swansea Crown Court heard the duo, operating under more than 40 aliases and using 18 different dates of birth, fraudulently obtained food and drink from four restaurants and one takeaway, racking up unpaid bills totaling £1,168.10.
The pair pleaded guilty to five joint fraud charges after images of their scams appeared online and led to their arrest. Ann McDonagh also admitted four shoplifting incidents, including designer brand items from Tommy Hilfiger worth a total of £1,017.60.
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Judge Paul Thomas imposed a 12-month prison sentence on Ann McDonagh and an eight-month prison sentence on Bernard McDonagh. He reprimanded them and suggested their antics could be the result of “pure and total greed”, reports the Manchester Evening News.
In his judgment he stated: “From the autumn of last year to the spring of this year, the two of you knowingly embarked on a course of continued dishonesty.”
About their scam, he said: “You went to restaurants with your own family. You were served hundreds of pounds worth of food and drink and then you cynically and shamelessly left without paying.
“You ordered the most expensive items on the menu, like steaks, knowing you had no intention of paying for them at all.”
The judge further criticized the use of children in the scam, describing it as “ruthlessly exploitative” and stating: “You didn’t go to these places to feed you and your family, it was crime for crime’s sake, to see if you could get away with it.”
He also expressed his belief that the thrill of the crime played a role: “I have no doubt that, apart from the greed element, you got a kick out of what you got away with on a regular basis.”
Highlighting the wider impact, the judge noted that such actions by members of the traveler community “fuel and reinforce” negative stereotypes.
Prosecutor Alycia Carpanini described an incident at the River House in Swansea where Ann McDonagh and her family racked up a significant bill. “They dined at the location and ordered a large amount of food,” Ms. Carpanini explained.
Describing the deceptive tactics used to avoid payment, she said: “Ann McDonagh has attempted to pay. She asked where the nearest ATM was. Ann McDonagh left a child in the restaurant to wait for her return and pay.”
However, the plan culminated in deception when “at that point the child asked to go to the toilet and ran out of the restaurant. The total bill was £267.60.”
Ms Carpanini also told of a separate theft on September 6, when Ann McDonagh stole from a Tesco Extra store in Swansea, filled a trolley with goods worth £126.60 and tried to leave without paying. The family ordered a Chinese takeaway worth £99.40 from Golden Fortune in Port Talbot to their home address on January 31.
Ms Carpanini said the meal was delivered before the family had closed the door in the delivery person’s face and had not paid for it. On February 3, Ann McDonagh stole six polo shirts and a pair of chinos worth £442 from the Tommy Hilfiger store at Bridgend Designer Outlet by hiding them in her waistcoat jacket.
She returned on February 17 and was seen breaking security tags off items before attempting to hide them, leaving in a blue Ford Transit van, a mobility vehicle with £49 worth of goods.
On February 23, the couple and four children went to La Casona restaurant in Skewen where they ordered a three-course meal with sides worth £276.60 before leaving without paying.
Ann McDonagh shoplifted from Sainsbury’s in Bridgewater on February 25, taking clothes and other items worth £400. She was arrested on March 13 for separate offences, which were not followed up, and taken to Bridgwater Prison for questioning.
Ms Carpanini said: “The defendant told the custody sergeant that she was nine months pregnant. The medical officer on duty ordered her released. She was released on bail before interrogation. The Crown says the defendant was not pregnant on that occasion and lied.”
She later admitted obstructing an officer in the execution of his duty. On March 27, the couple visited Isabella’s in Porthcawl and racked up a bill of £196 for food and drinks. Ann McDonagh’s card was declined three times when she tried to pay.
She assured the staff that she would withdraw money from an ATM and left a child in the restaurant as security. However, the child fled the scene after ten minutes and the family was seen in a white vehicle.
Fast forward to April 19, the couple, along with five others, dined at Bella Ciao in Swansea after making a reservation under the name Lucy Logan. Once again, Ann McDonagh’s card was declined when she tried to pay the £329.10 bill.
She told staff she was going to get cash from an ATM and left a teenager at the restaurant as collateral.
Ms Carpanini said: “After five minutes the boy got a phone call and said, ‘Oh no, really, I’ll be there now’. The owner tried to stop the boy but he ran away.”
In a personal victim impact statement, Giovan Cangelosi, the owner of Bella Ciao, expressed fears for the safety of his restaurant after posting images and details of the fraud online. Describing the impact of the theft, he said: “I felt like I had failed to protect my restaurant and failed as an owner.”
Giles Hayes, who represented Bernard McDonagh, said his client had taken the money to court to pay it back. He portrayed McDonagh, a father of six, as “deeply embarrassed and ashamed” by his actions.
Andrew Evans, representing Ann McDonagh, suggested she may have committed the fraud “to try to make herself feel better” after a number of deaths in the family.
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