BERLIN, May 18 (Bernama-dpa) — A 55-year-old man is accused of faking cancer to live in a Berlin hotel for more than a year without paying, racking up costs of over €100,000 (US$116,000), prosecutors said on Monday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
The man is alleged to have deliberately planned the scheme and has now been charged with commercial fraud, the public prosecutor’s office said.
Prosecutors said the man rented a room in April 2023 in the south-eastern Treptow-Köpenick district for himself, a female companion and two children. He claimed that his caravan had burned down and that he was suffering from cancer, both of which were untrue.
He is also said to have told hotel staff that an automobile club would cover the costs, which prosecutors say was likewise false.
The man left the hotel in August 2024 without settling the bill. He was arrested in March based on a warrant. Although he was briefly held in pre-trial detention, he has since been released, prosecutors said.
— BERNAMA-dpa