A wannabe influencer may don designer threads, but she can afford only the free bread at trendy New York City restaurants after being arrested several times in a brazen dine-and-dash scheme the past month.
The New York Police Department said it nabbed Pei Chung, 34, at least six times at chic eateries after she skipped out on the bills or tried to offer random items inside her Louis Vuitton bag as payment.
Yet the allegedly shiesty diner remains free on bond. Even with two more arrests this past weekend, a Brooklyn Criminal Court judge allowed Ms. Chung out of custody on supervised release.
That’s in spite of prosecutors seeking to jail the influencer on theft of service charges, according to the New York Post.
On Monday, the day after her court hearing, staffers at 12 Chairs Cafe told multiple media outlets that Ms. Chung gorged herself at the Israeli restaurant. The staff decided to let her go and not call the police over the incident.
Ms. Chung posted late Wednesday about her visit to the Brooklyn restaurant Hole in the Wall, with photos showing she ordered close to $70 worth of food.
But when The Washington Times phoned the restaurant, a staffer said the manager shooed away the suspect after recognizing her from local news. It’s unclear where she got the photos of the restaurant’s meals.
Police said Ms. Chung has racked up larger tabs at other hot spots in the area.
On Saturday, authorities said they arrested the suspect after she couldn’t pay her $100 bill at Sea, a Thai restaurant.
An employee told WNBC that all of Ms. Chung’s credit cards were declined. She was eventually handcuffed by police and led out.
In October, authorities said they charged Ms. Chung after she couldn’t cover her $150 tab at Peter Luger Steak House.
An employee said the suspect flat-out admitted she didn’t have the money to pay when the bill was handed to her, according to the TV station.
Ms. Chung then tried to barter with the servers by offering them kitchen shears from her bag, the employee said, but she wound up getting taken away by police.
The suspect doesn’t appear strapped for cash on her Instagram page. Ms. Chung posts photos of herself wearing Prada heels, Cartier necklaces and Hermes belts.
“Fine jewelry goods I only purchased on-premise at luxury brands’ official stores and paid with NYC tax,” she says in one post from Oct. 7.
But Ms. Chung’s LinkedIn page shows she hasn’t held a job since March 2023, when she last worked as a web designer with JPMorgan Chase on an eight-month contract.
She describes herself as “semi-retired” in a short blurb about her work history at the top of her profile.
Ms. Chung is being represented by a public defender. She is due back in court in December.
