The Aragonese authorities are investigating the case of a supposed 'simpa' denounced by a hotelier, who assures that some clients did not want to pay the 3,535 euro invoice for dinner for 59 people that he served a few months ago at his premises in Cuarte de Huerva (province from Zaragoza).
As reported by the Heraldo de Aragón newspaper, the baptism in question was held on April 29 and consisted of a dinner that ended, with anger included among the attendees themselves, after 5:00 am the following day.
At that time, when the business owner took the bill from the couple who had ordered the treat, they refused to pay. Although he threatened to call the Civil Guard, they did not give in and left immediately. Faced with this situation, the innkeeper went to the nearest police station to file a complaint for fraud.
In his account to the agents, he indicated that the couple had previously booked dinner by phone and that they later sent him messages confirming attendance and the number of diners. The night in question served a special menu for 54 adults at 60 euros per cover, plus five children at 12 euros, for a total of 3,300 euros. The consumption of some soft drinks and other beverages ultimately led to the bill amounting to 3,525.20 euros.
Around 3:45 in the morning, several of the diners began to argue, which caused a part of them to go outside the premises. Despite the fact that it was time to close, not even the owner and his workers could do it, since there were still guests and their personal belongings inside. In the end, around 5.15, they gave them the ticket, which they refused to pay without giving them any explanation or reason.
After the case reached the courts, last week the defendant was summoned to testify for an alleged crime of fraud, a statement in which she offered a very different version of what happened. In her defense, she maintained that prior to the event she had paid 3,000 euros by hand, in 50 bills, to the person with whom she made the reservation, a payment for which she has no receipt or proof of any kind.
As he added, he gave that amount because he supposed it was half of what the total cost of the celebration, although later it was less people than expected. When asked why he did not pay the remaining 525 euros difference, he argued that it was because on the second day of booking they asked for 3,000 more euros and, because they were not satisfied with what was required, they agreed to an open bar.
Even so, the defendant acknowledged that she did not request the claims book. She also assured that in the restaurant they did not give her any invoice and they told her the price of the service by word of mouth. However, the complainant denies that this was the case, since he went to the Benemérita barracks the same night as the event carrying the ticket issued by the cash register at 5:13 on April 30.
The case denounced now recalls the man known as the king of the 'simpa' of Zaragoza, who recently returned to prison for a few days. Antonio Grimal, as this Catalan by birth and adoption from Zaragoza is called, has accumulated up to 65 police records since 2016 for minor crimes of fraud for refusing to pay the bill in bars and restaurants.
In the summer of 2022, he accumulated headlines after being arrested for six consecutive days for the same reason: eating or drinking for free in different establishments, although the amount of his overdrafts did not usually exceed a few tens of euros.
