A Douglas man has been jailed for 18 weeks after conning Manx businesses out of more than £3,000 to live the high life.
Alan Edward Bell, of Christian Road, pleaded guilty to eight charges of obtaining goods or services without payment and one of obtaining services by deception.
Bell, who is 43, and Liverpool man Olatunde Ademuyiwa contacted restaurants, bars, hotels and taxis setting up pre-paid tabs and making bookings, using false names and various credit card details.
Staff believed the credit card details to be genuine and would authorise the payments.
The pair then turned up with friends to spend the tab, only for businesses to later discover that the payments would not be honoured by the credit card company.
A number of people told police that they had witnessed the men using false names.
Among the list of freebies the pair racked up were seven nights’ accommodation at the Arches in Port Erin worth £2,403, drink from the Courthouse bar worth £400, food and drink worth £640 from a restaurant at Mount Murray, and taxi services worth £39.
When the duo were arrested Bell blamed Ademuyiwa, saying that he had told him that they were using promotional discount vouchers.
Ademuyiwa said a man in the UK had offered him what he believed were discount promotions and provided him with false names.
Ademuyiwa told police that he was a victim and disputed the fact that witnesses had identified him.
However, a number of the bookings were found to have been made using local email addresses and phone numbers.
One witness said that they saw Ademuyiwa use details from his phone to pay for one transaction in the name of Richard Jones.
The incidents occurred between December 2014 and February 2015.
Ademuyiwa, aged 26, of Maghull, in Liverpool, whose part in the offences was estimated at more than £6,000, was jailed in Augustfor 40 weeks’ after entering guilty pleas. At the time Bell’s case was adjourned to allow time for mental health reports to be prepared.
Defending Bell in court, advocate Steve Wood said: ‘Mr Bell does not ordinarily behave like this.
‘In November 2014 his life fell apart with a marriage break-up and he had no access to his children.
‘He had been in a vulnerable place. Mr Ademuyiwa came into his life and gave him a sense of something else, escapism.
‘He enabled him to engage in a particular lifestyle. Clearly he was enjoying the spoils.