A British tourist spent an eye-watering £3,500 on call girls and booze but claimed he'd been scammed out of his money, police have claimed.
Pretesh Vagdia, 48, said he had been drugged in a club in Copacabana, Brazil, and that thieves had then run up a huge amount of debt on his credit card. The holidaymaker, thought to be a public transport worker in London, was initially believed to have fallen for what cops in the South American country have dubbed a "Good night, Cinderella" scam.
But CCTV footage obtained from the boozer's cameras showed Vagdia spending the money for himself. One clip shows the tourist ordering drinks from a hostess at the club, who is also seen grinding on the alleged big spender.
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Another video showed the man trying to check into a hotel with two call girls. However the trio came up against some bad luck when Vagdia's wife cancelled his credit card.
The spend-happy bloke showed no signs of being drugged and police say he invented the story to cover up his antics, which took place on November 17 of this year. Now Vagdia, believed to have fled Brazil, is wanted for questioning on lying to police and defrauding the club where he spent the night.
A statement by Brazilian police on December 14 obtained by CEN said: "The Special Tourism Support Delegation (DEAT) investigates a British tourist for falsely reporting a crime and embezzlement.
"He claimed to have been a victim of the 'Good night, Cinderella' scam, which had caused him a loss of BRL 22,000. The information, in fact, was a lie.
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"After field investigation, intelligence and data crossing, the agents verified that what happened did not correspond to the tourist's report. On the day in question, the man went to a nightclub in Copacabana, in the South Zone, where he stayed until 7am.
"At the establishment, he had fun and consumed alcoholic drinks with several dancers. After leaving the club, in the company of two of the dancers, he tried to stay in a hotel, which was not possible because the British man's wife, who was in the apartment rented by the couple, noticed an unusual movement on her husband's credit card. and requested bank blocking.
"Images obtained by DEAT police officers show the alleged robbery victim leaving the hotel, shortly afterwards, in a calm manner, still accompanied by the two women. Therefore the scam called 'Good night, Cinderella' did not occur. Shortly afterwards, the tourist arrived at the apartment and told his wife that he had been a victim of the crime."
Police spokesperson Patricia Alemany added: "People have to understand that it is a crime to go to the police to [falsely] report a crime as serious as this. In this case, he is also being investigated for embezzlement. Since he paid for the nightclub and immediately suspended the amount paid."
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