A New Jersey man has been arrested for placing several hundred fake pizza orders that ended up costing struggling restaurants thousands of dollars. The man made the orders pretending to be a first responder to restaurants that were donating meals to first responders and hospitals.
Police apprehended Sudeep Khetani, 34, on Tuesday for cyber harassment, according to reports.
Khetani allegedly placed the fraudulent calls between Jan. 15 and April 9. He did not go to get the pizzas but instead when the restaurants called back to ask when he was coming to pick them up, he "used harassing, threatening, sexually explicit, and biased comments against employees," say police. He also, in at least one case, made statements about Italians and "wished they would be afflicted with the coronavirus," the department noted.
Khetani targeted several pizzerias in three counties.
"It is incomprehensible that a suspect would play on the goodwill of so many during these difficult times," South Brunswick Police Department Chief Raymond Hayducka said. "I will not tolerate someone trying to take advantage of our community in these difficult days."
The chief credited Detective Tim Hoover for tracking down Khetani.
"Detective Hoover filed many subpoenas, conducted numerous interviews, and exhausted all investigative means to bring this case to a successful conclusion," Hayducka noted. "His hard work put an end to Khetani's alarming actions."
In a separate incident in 2019, Khetani was charged with promoting prostitution.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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