A 30-year-old homeless man was jailed for sneaking into a hotel room and claiming he was the room’s previous guest, then using the credit card on file to rack up thousands of dollars in charges.
David Price was arrested at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort.
According to court papers, the Seminole County man finagled his way into a room at the hotel after a guest checked out. Then, he called the front desk and said he was that person. He asked for an extension on the stay. It was granted, and from there, the paperwork says Price used the credit card to make around $3,000 in purchases.
Eventually, hotel management knew the man was up to no good because the previous guest in the room was an employee of the hotel, who left Florida after attending a conference.
When hotel workers inspected the room, they found items that belonged to the Peabody Hotel on International Drive. They called that hotel, and workers said they were aware of the scheme. It appears Price did the same thing at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cypress and Loews Portofino Bay at Universal, court papers say.
WFTV requested incident reports from the Orlando Police Department that show Price ripped people off back in 2010 as well. At Portofino Bay, he spent nearly $9,000 on an Ohio man’s credit card, a report states.
“I don't know how he got in my room, how he got my debit card. But he got like the best wines, the best restaurants, room service. He bought clothes and the whole ball of wax,” said Joseph Barak, who was visiting Orlando from Poland, Ohio.
Disney investigators are looking into incidents at Disney-owned hotels in Lake Buena Vista.
Price was charged with grand theft and remains in jail.
