Three Beach restaurants fall prey to refund scam

VIRGINIA BEACH

Stephanie Burnham was working the register at the Firehouse Subs outside Lynnhaven Mall one evening late last month when a man came in demanding a refund.

He said he'd had an allergic reaction to something in the food he'd eaten there earlier and had to go to the hospital for shots, Burnham said. As proof, he presented bright red eyes, hives on his arms, a swollen tongue and needle marks, she said.

The balding white man in his 40s sai d he'd spoken with the restaurant's owner and that he agreed to give him $87.97 as compensation - a refund for his food and money to pay for his shots, police said.

So Burnham handed over the money. Later, after talking to the owner, she realized she'd been conned.

"My first thought wasn't, 'This guy's conning me,' " said the 17-year-old shift leader. "When I saw him, there was something wrong with him."

But Burnham wasn't the only one fooled. The mustached con man, described as about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 180 to 250 pounds, pulled similar scams at the Cold Stone Creamery in the mall and at a nearby Quiznos, said Officer Adam Bernstein, spokesman for the Police Department. He made off with more than $300 in the three scams on May 27 and 28, Bernstein said.

At Cold Stone, the man said a hair found inside a cake had made a guest at a church function vomit, incurring carpet-cleaning costs, Bernstein said. At Quiznos, he said some chicken had made him sick, requiring an emergency-room visit, he said.

"It's unfortunate," Bernstein said. "The store is trying to be customer-friendly, accepts these stories and gets ripped off."

The suspect also tried the con at several other local restaurants but was unsuccessful, Bernstein said.

Anyone with information about these crimes is encouraged to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (562-5887).

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com