3 Men staying on WDW Property for Free - Caught

[com_op_2000]

Investigators said three men outsmarted Walt Disney World security and lived a lavish lifestyle, while vacationing, inside the parks for nearly four years.

Officials said Joseph Geiger, Robert Falk, and Steven Nero allegedly racked up more than $15,000 in charges in just one month and never paid for any of them.

Deputies said Geiger and Falk had turned themselves in and confessed, while Nero is still at large.

Investigators found that the men would book hotel rooms with one credit card and then put down a second, pre-paid debit card with only a dollar or two on it, to cover any charges to the room. They would then go out in the parks bill everything to the room and take off before the charges caught up and employees found out.

Officials said this was all done through a loophole in the park's reservation system.

The crime left many out visitors in disbelief.

 

[DizCaptain]

Very interesting... do you have a news source for this story?

 

[rodkenrich]

,

 

[lockedoutlogic]

There are many scams run at WDW...as is life.

What is always astounding is that such a well staffed place that preaches money, money, money is so BAD at detecting it.

I had seen a few myself


and i would bet the farm that the part they didn't report is that they are/ were employees or that employee involvement is part of the story...most scams lead back to that - beyond simple shoplifting

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Although in smaller scale, a few DVC members have had suprise bills for unpaid room charges from renters of their points. Someone that knows how to work the system could easily take advantage of the loop holes in their booking and payment system.

 

[PortMickey]

Very interesting... do you have a news source for this story?

The story was also in the Orlando Sentinel:

3 men scammed $15,000 from Disney hotels
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...cam-20120531_1_hotels-shop-owner-room-charges

Three Florida men are accused of taking magical vacations of a lifetime — all on Walt Disney World's dime.

Robert Falk and Steven Nero, both of South Florida, along with a Joseph Geiger of DeLand, racked up roughly $15,000 in charges at several Disney hotels earlier this year and then left without paying before hotel staff ever realized what happened, according to an arrest report.
All three were arrested this week.

Falk, 36, told deputies they pulled off the scam by taking advantage of a loophole in the way Disney charges resort guests that he discovered during a legitimate vacation four years ago.

Each man checked into a hotel with a legitimate credit card but then switched the room charges to prepaid debit cards that each had less than $10 in value.

Then they charged thousands in theme-park purchases to their rooms. Since the hotel limited charges to between $1,000 and $1,500 per room, the fraudulent purchases went undetected since they stayed below those amounts, they told deputies.

Nero, 39, told deputies they visited resort hotels seven times and reserved a total of 13 rooms from February to April. The three could still be living the high life had it not been for a vigilant cigar shop employee, a report says. The employee contacted authorities after Falk allegedly came into the shop several times to buy hundreds of dollars worth of pricey cigarettes.

The employee told police that Falk was spending more money than most of the other customers but what really made him suspicious was that Falk never seemed to care what brand of cigarettes he bought. According to the shop owner, most smokers are loyal to their brands.

"We take these matters seriously and work closely with law enforcement," said Bryan Malenius, Disney media specialist said.

.

 

[fireflymedic]

The story was also in the Orlando Sentinel:

Falk allegedly came into the shop several times to buy hundreds of dollars worth of pricey cigarettes.


.

of all the things that I wanted while at DW but did not have the money to buy it was NEVER cigarettes

 

[vandy]

of all the things that I wanted while at DW but did not have the money to buy it was NEVER cigarettes

Resale to people they know at half-price is a crap-ton of money with the price of cigarettes these days!

 

[Emma1987]

The employee told police that Falk was spending more money than most of the other customers but what really made him suspicious was that Falk never seemed to care what brand of cigarettes he bought. According to the shop owner, most smokers are loyal to their brands

Good work..lol.

 

[diamondpixienc]

First, this is so crazy. Second, even if the charges were "under" the limits. It is still an unpaid charge to that room right? There has to be more people involved in this as one of the previous posters have said. I bet they would have held one of my kids in the ME baggage area if I had even $1.00 charged on my tab. But four years... got to be an inside job.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

First, this is so crazy. Second, even if the charges were "under" the limits. It is still an unpaid charge to that room right? There has to be more people involved in this as one of the previous posters have said. I bet they would have held one of my kids in the ME baggage area if I had even $1.00 charged on my tab. But four years... got to be an inside job.

I don't see how it's difficult, since you don't have to turn in keys, they keep limited information about guests, it's pretty easy to book out even if you have charges outstanding. Unpaid room charges have happened to DVC members who rent, with no inside jobs involved.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Ok, I could see how they could slip out & get away with it once. But how do they keep returning over serveral months & Disney keeps letting them book more rooms again. Don't people have to show ID when checking in?
I would think with all the computers they have, Disney could put a red flag on someone's account.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Ok, I could see how they could slip out & get away with it once. But how do they keep returning over serveral months & Disney keeps letting them book more rooms again. Don't people have to show ID when checking in?
I would think with all the computers they have, Disney could put a red flag on someone's account.

Disney is not very good at security...especially when it comes to credit fraud of this type...sorry.

And some of the reason why these things happen is how they want to make it as "easy and hassle free" as possible.

they let you use a random plastic card with their info on it....which is completely indistinguishable to the tens of thousands of others in use at the same time on the property.

they pre check you in...do not ask for id when making purchases with their media...and don't charge the purchases to the real credit cards until you've hit an arbitrary limit (which can be reset with the click of a mouse if you have the right level of computer access to the system) or until/after you have checked out.

id checks are often glossed over at checkins too...and if you don't have big ticket things such as room costs or tickets on your reservation when you check in...which require payment up front...they extend you a credit limit of a flat amount without verifying if your credit card can support it.

And all this doesn't address the basis of the issue: that they have learned that the LESS they bug you to pay your bills while you're there...the more you'll spend.

they get your room charge now months in advance....most of the time your tickets...and they sell you the dining plan in advance so you're not thinking about money there either....

and if you do owe them something...you pay it 5 minutes into your checkin when you're optimism is off the charts...all hotels do that - wisely.

So in the end...you aren't thinking money...and you spend more.

And they sometimes get screwed...but its an acceptable risk to them because of all those that leave with a $6200.00 balance which are processed at check out.

Like candy from the babies

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Disney is not very good at security...especially when it comes to credit fraud of this type...sorry.

And some of the reason why these things happen is how they want to make it as "easy and hassle free" as possible.

they let you use a random plastic card with their info on it....which is completely indistinguishable to the tens of thousands of others in use at the same time on the property.

they pre check you in...do not ask for id when making purchases with their media...and don't charge the purchases to the real credit cards until you've hit an arbitrary limit (which can be reset with the click of a mouse if you have the right level of computer access to the system) or until/after you have checked out.

id checks are often glossed over at checkins too...and if you don't have big ticket things such as room costs or tickets on your reservation when you check in...which require payment up front...they extend you a credit limit of a flat amount without verifying if your credit card can support it.

And all this doesn't address the basis of the issue: that they have learned that the LESS they bug you to pay your bills while you're there...the more you'll spend.

they get your room charge now months in advance....most of the time your tickets...and they sell you the dining plan in advance so you're not thinking about money there either....

and if you do owe them something...you pay it 5 minutes into your checkin when you're optimism is off the charts...all hotels do that - wisely.

So in the end...you aren't thinking money...and you spend more.

And they sometimes get screwed...but its an acceptable risk to them because of all those that leave with a $6200.00 balance which are processed at check out.

Like candy from the babies

Wow, I never thought of it like that; we have only stayed onsite maybe 5 or 6x. I do know that while on the cruise ship, they charge your cc every $400 in charges put on your KTTW card.

 

[elmlea22]

That is just crazy. I am just to honest. For that money I really hope it was a good holiday as I doubt they will be going on anymore any time soon

 

[Sprinklelovesyou]

That is crazy! kudos for the two that turned themselvees in though!

 

[mitros]

Although in smaller scale, a few DVC members have had suprise bills for unpaid room charges from renters of their points. Someone that knows how to work the system could easily take advantage of the loop holes in their booking and payment system.

Well, I'm just glad we USE all of our points each year!