Hadleigh man jailed after 'dine and dash' fraud
He was sentenced to eight months in prison.
A man from Hadleigh has been sentenced to eight months in prison after admitting to a number of 'dine and dash' offences during the pandemic.
Alan Rogers, who's 46 and from Market Place, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud by false representation.
The charges related to incidents in Ipswich, Aldeburgh and Norwich between July and November last year.
As well as the three offences above, he admitted to a further 15 of fraud by false representation that were taken into consideration - these took place between January and October 2020.
12 took place in Suffolk, two in Essex and one in Norfolk.
The total fraud is thought to be around £1,200.
Rogers was first arrested along with a 43 year-old woman from Sudbury in Ipswich on the 18th November 2020, on suspicion of making off without payment.
No further action was taken against the woman.
Duncan Etchells of the Op Converter team said: "The selfish actions of Rogers and his so called ‘dine and dash’ offending would have caused considerable distress and frustration to the proprietors of all the pubs, restaurants and other eateries he visited.
"These were businesses who, at the time, were no doubt struggling to make ends meet in the wake of the covid pandemic with the lockdown affecting the food and drink trade so to see Rogers receive this sentence is very satisfying.”