31-year-old Joshua Nwankwo flees hotel after not paying his bill at Dirty Little Secret, a nightclub in The Dream Hotel on 4th Avenue North, in the early hours of December 9th, 2023. When officers arrived, they spoke with Liron Eisenberg, the complainant and Director of Food and Beverage at the location. He stated that Nwankwo threw a party for his business, hosting several guests, accruing a $3,267.76 bill. Eisenberg said Nwankwo’s card was declined when it came time to pay the bill, and he could not facilitate payment. Eisenberg added that Nwankwo was a hotel guest and had a room upstairs.
Officers then went to speak with Nwankwo, who told them he had booked the event, and his debit card was authorized several times throughout the night. Nwankwo said once it was time to pay the final amount, his card declined, and he had two separate fraud alerts on his phone from his bank, which he showed to officers. Officers noticed the pending authorized/voided charges and an account balance of $10,000. Due to the time of the incident, Nwankwo could not get ahold of anyone from the bank. Officers advised Eisenberg to settle the charges with Nwankwo in the morning since he had not demonstrated any intent to commit theft and stayed at the hotel. Officers warned Nwankwo that criminal charges could be pressed if he did not pay his bill. The next day, around 6:22 p.m., officers called the hotel and discovered Nwankwo had fled that morning without paying. Nwankwo was taken into custody for theft of services on April 2nd.
