Dine and Dash?

 Grubhub and Doordash lead to new forms of dine and dash fraud

A famous dine and dash offender is arrested

A popular Korean restaurant in Los Angeles called Spoon by H has been driven out of business by a new kind if dinning fraud. Using the new method a person orders food from a restaurant, often a large order, using their credit card. They then dispute the charge and receive a refund. The restaurant then is forced to pay for the food at their loss and the fraudulent diner gets free food at the restaurant's expense. In the case of Spoon by H, the restaurant owner released a statement explaining the situation:

"We are heartbroken to find ourselves sharing the very news we hoped we would never have to share… Spoon By H will be closing," the restaurant’s last post reads, which was shared Monday, Feb. 22. "Although we put up our very best fight, we could no longer hold out against the growing barrage of fraudulent disputed charges and the countless refunds issued." (Restaurants are reportedly being hurt by refund request scams)

The owner of the restaurant, Yoonjin Hwang is the only employee and does all of the work and cooking herself. Hwang received a large order for more than $700 which she at first was grateful for. But when the customer disputed the claim on his credit card and Hwang was forced to pay for the whole order herself, she knew that the restaurant was in trouble. Then it began happening again and again. Finally Yoonjin Hwang couldn't afford to keep the restaurant open and closed it in February. 

Yoonjin Hwang

This form of dining fraud has been affecting restaurants around the country since the pandemic lockdown began. It is part of a larger pattern of social breakdown and a huge increase in crime that began occuring around the United States in 2020. See the articles below to learn more about this clever new form of fraud:

Question: what punishment do you thing fraudulent diners should receive? 

L.A. restaurants struggle with a new form of dine-and-dash

Popular Los Angeles restaurant closes after high-tech "dine and dash" scheme

Restaurants are reportedly being hurt by refund request scams