Man jailed for using fake slips to order MVR 115,000 in Olive Garden meals

Criminal Court has today sentenced a man to a prison term and house arrest for using fake slips to order meals worth MVR 115,000 from Olive Garden restaurant.

The man convicted on these charges is Abdulla Fazeel, Daisymaage, Dh. Kudahuvadhoo.

The State raised two charges against Fazeel; fraud and forging documents with the intention to deceive. As the two charges were pressed against him in two different cases, the hearings were held separately.

The Criminal Court's verdict reads that between August 22, 2019 and October 25, 2021, Fazeel had ordered food from Olive Garden and received the meals. To pay for the meals, he has sent amounts less than on the bill, and had also sent forged bank transfer slips via Viber to the restaurant.

The verdict states that over different days, Fazeel had obtained food worth MVR 115,000 through sending fake payment slips.

Fazeel admitted to the charges in court.

As he is found guilty of fraud, and because he accepted the charges, the number of days he spent in custody was deducted, placing him under house arrest for six months, alongside a prison sentence of 1 year and 22 days.

For the production of forged documents with the intention to deceive, Fazeel received a prison sentence of 3 months and 18 days, after deducting time served.

Sunrise Maldives Pvt Ltd, which operated Olive Garden, has also asked for compensation of MVR 115,000 to be claimed. The court ordered Fazeel to pay this within six months.