I hope that taxpayers can be satisfied with the job we have done, says prosecutor Henrik Nordquist.
On Christmas Day 2023, a party of 35 people had dinner at the restaurant for over 80,000 kronor, a bill that included champagne, cognac, and large quantities of shots. But when it was time to pay the bill, they disappeared in a taxi without paying.
In the district court, five people were sentenced to prison for the dine-and-dash and a series of other frauds, but only two of them have had their sentences tried in the court of appeal.
Avoid Prison
A woman who was previously sentenced to one year in prison for four frauds will instead receive probation and community service, since she, according to the court of appeal, was not as involved in the criminal scheme as the others.
Another woman convicted of fraud, whom the prosecutor had wanted to deport, will be allowed to stay in Sweden according to the court of appeal's ruling.
Still, the prosecutor says he is satisfied. He thinks that the case with the dine-and-dash shows that the police need to get better at investigating this type of crime.
You can't be too quick to judge this type of crime as civil, as disputes between entrepreneurs and private individuals, says Henrik Nordquist.
"Must be Suspicious"
After the report of the dine-and-dash, the police dropped the investigation with just that argument, but Nordquist appealed the decision. The police investigation that followed led to charges for over 20 frauds worth over one million kronor.
The convicted individuals had set up a system to start non-profit associations in order to consume on invoice, with no intention of paying. There is a lesson to be learned here for entrepreneurs, believes the prosecutor.
We in Sweden have a good view of our fellow human beings and we trust the other party. I think, unfortunately, that you have to be significantly more suspicious.
