A couple who racked up huge restaurant bills during a shocking ‘dinner and dash’ before walking away without paying have been jailed
Bernard McDonagh, 41, and Ann McDonagh, 39, both of Sandfields, Port Talbot, ordered three-course meals for themselves and their family, including T-bone steaks and desserts, with some being sent back uneaten.
Swansea Crown Court heard the pair, who between them use more than 40 aliases and 18 dates of birth, fraudulently procured food and drink at four restaurants and one takeaway in the south Wales area, with unpaid bills totaling £1,168.10.
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The couple, who pleaded guilty to five joint fraud charges, were arrested after pictures of their scam were posted on social media.
Ann McDonagh also admitted four counts of shoplifting, including shoplifting at Tommy Hilfiger designer store, taking items worth £1,017.60.
Judge Paul Thomas sentenced Ann McDonagh to 12 months in prison and Bernard McDonagh to eight months, telling them their actions could have been motivated by “pure and utter greed”.
He told them, “From the fall of last year to the spring of this year, you two set out on a deliberate course of sustained dishonesty.
“You would go to restaurants with your own family. You would be served hundreds of pounds worth of food and drink and then cynically and brazenly walk away without paying.
“You would order the most expensive items on the menu, like steaks, knowing full well that you had no intention of paying for them at all.”
The judge said the use of children to wait in restaurants, who then ran away and pretended to go to the till, was “recklessly exploitative”.
He added: “You didn’t go to these places to feed yourself and your family, it was crime for crime’s sake – to see if you could get away with it.
“I have no doubt that apart from the element of greed you had from what you got away with regularly.
The judge added that the behavior of the Traveler family would “incite and reinforce” negative stereotypes.
Alycia Carpanini, prosecuting, told the court how the couple went to River House in Swansea at 7pm on August 9 last year with their three children.
“They dined on site and ordered a large amount of food,” Ms Carpanini said.
“Ann McDonagh attempted a payment. She asked where the nearest checkout was. Ann McDonagh left the child at the restaurant to wait for her to return and pay.
“At that point the child asked to go to the toilet and ran out of the restaurant. The total bill was £267.60.
On September 6, Ann McDonagh went to a Tesco Extra store in Swansea and loaded a trolley with toiletries and alcohol worth £126.60 before pushing it through the self-service till without paying.
The family ordered a £99.40 Chinese takeaway from Golden Fortune in Port Talbot to their home address on January 31.
Ms Carpanini said the food was delivered before the family closed the door on the delivery driver and did not pay for it.
On February 3, Ann McDonagh stole six polo shirts and one pair of chinos worth £442 from the Tommy Hilfiger store in Bridgend Designer Outlet by hiding them in her vest.
She returned on February 17 and was seen breaking the security tags off the items before trying to hide them and driving off in a blue Ford Transit van – a mobile vehicle – with £49 worth of goods.
On February 23, a couple and four children went to La Casona restaurant in Skewen where they ordered a three-course meal with side dishes worth £276.60 before leaving without paying.
Ann McDonagh was robbed from Sainsburys in Bridgend on February 25, taking £400 worth of clothes and other items.
She was arrested on March 13 for various offenses – which have not been resolved – and taken to Bridgwater Prison for questioning.
Ms Carpanini said: “The defendant told the sergeant she was nine months pregnant. The duty doctor instructed that she must be discharged.
“She was released on bail before the interview. The Crown alleges the accused was not pregnant on that occasion and was lying.
She later pleaded guilty to a charge of obstructing a constable in the performance of his duty.
On March 27, the couple went to Isabella’s in Porthcawl and ordered £196 worth of food and drink. Ann McDonagh tried to pay by card, which was declined three times.
She told the staff she was going to the cash register and left the baby in the restaurant. They ran out 10 minutes later, with the family leaving in a white vehicle.
On April 19, the couple went to Bella Ciao in Swansea with five others, having pre-booked a table under the name Lucy Logan.
Ann McDonagh tried to pay the £329.10 bill with a card which was declined and told staff she would get the money from the till – leaving the teenager there while she went.
Mrs Carpanini said: “After five minutes the boy answered the phone and said: ‘No really, I’ll be there now’. The owner tried to stop the boy from leaving, but he ran away.”
In a personal victim impact statement, Bella Ciao’s Giovan Cangelosi said he feared for the safety of his restaurant after posting pictures and details of the scam 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, representing Bernard McDonagh, said his client had brought the money with him to court to return it.
He described father-of-six McDonagh as “deeply ashamed and embarrassed” by his actions.
Andrew Evans, representing Ann McDonagh, said she had suffered a family loss and may have committed fraud “to try and make herself feel better”.