California Penal Code § 537 PC makes it a crime to defraud an innkeeper. This means using fraud to obtain food, fuel, services, or accommodations from a hotel, restaurant, or similar business without paying.
PC 537 can be charged as petty theft or grand theft and carries a maximum sentence of up to 3 years in jail.
Examples
- finishing an expensive meal at a restaurant, and then taking off without paying the check (dine and dash)
- filling your tank with gas at a full-service gas station and then driving off without paying
- staying at a hotel and then leaving without checking out and paying for board, room service, pay-per-view, and any other bills you racked up
- using a stolen or expired credit card over the internet to “pay” a hotel bill
In this article, our California criminal defense lawyers highlight the following “defrauding an innkeeper” topics:
- 1. “Defrauding an Innkeeper” Defined
- 2. Defenses
- 3. Penalties
- 4. Related offenses
- Frequently-Asked-Questions
1. “Defrauding an Innkeeper” defined
In order to convict you of defrauding an innkeeper under California Penal Code 537 PC, prosecutors have to prove these three “elements of the crime.”
- you obtained food, fuel, services, or accommodations from a hotel, restaurant, boardinghouse, lodginghouse, apartment house, bungalow court, motel, marina, marine facility, autocamp, ski area, or public or private campground, and
- you did not pay, and
- you intended to defraud the business.1
Alternatively, a prosecutor could try to convict you by showing that:
- you obtained credit at the hotel, restaurant, etc., by false pretenses (such as an untrue statement), or
- after obtaining credit, goods, or services, you left the business with no intent to pay.2
In practice, most cases for “defrauding an innkeeper” involve intentionally skipping out on a restaurant, bar, or hotel tab.
537 PC makes it a crime to use fraud to obtain a good or service without paying for it.
2. Defenses
Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with fraud crimes. In our experience, the following three defenses to “defrauding an innkeeper” have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries at getting charges dismissed or reduced.
You Had No Intent to Defraud
Claiming you had no fraudulent intent is one of our most successful defenses because prosecutors have no way of proving what was going on inside of your head. We can often raise a reasonable doubt as to your guilt by arguing you genuinely intended to pay for whatever goods and services you received. Typical evidence we rely on are:
- any texts, emails, or voicemails between you and the innkeeper,
- eyewitness accounts, and
- past invoices from the innkeeper which you paid.
If you failed to pay simply because you were distracted by your phone, your children, or some other situation taking up your attention, you committed no crime. You would just be civilly liable to reimburse the business.
You Made an Honest Mistake
If you did receive money or goods from an innkeeper without paying, no crime occurred as long as it was an accident. We find this “it was a mistake” defense is most successful when we can show that:
- you had no criminal intent to do harm, and
- you were not acting negligently, and
- you were engaged in lawful conduct at the time of the accident.
For example, perhaps you wrote down the wrong credit card information without realizing it.
You Acted Under Duress
If someone threatened to kill you if you did not defraud the innkeeper, then you are not criminally liable for going through with the fraud because you were acting under duress. We would argue that any reasonable person facing the same threats would have done the same thing.
This defense is most successful when we have video of or recorded messages by the person who placed you under duress. The D.A. may then drop all charges against you and then prosecute the person who threatened you.
No matter the situation, we recommend you contact us as soon as possible after your arrest. Through a process called pretrial intervention, we may be able to show the prosecutors that you did nothing criminal and are prepared to pay anything you owe. The state may then agree not to bring criminal charges at all.
3. Penalties
| Value of the loss | “Defrauding an innkeeper” penalties in California |
| $950 or less (petty theft) | Misdemeanor: Up to 6 months in jail and/or $1,000 |
| More than $950 (grand theft) | Misdemeanor: Up to 1 year in jail and/or $1,000 or Felony: 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in jail and/or up to $10,000 |
Defrauding an innkeeper out of more than $950 is a wobbler, which means prosecutors can choose to charge you with either a misdemeanor or a felony. The D.A. is more likely to bring felony charges if you already have a criminal history.3
Note that in addition to incarceration and fines, the court will also order you to pay victim restitution to the innkeeper.4
4. Related offenses
- Shoplifting (PC 495) – entering an open business with the intent to steal merchandise worth $950 or less.
- Petty theft (PC 484(a)) – physically taking property that belongs to someone else amounting to $950 or less.
- Grand theft (PC 587) – the unlawful taking of someone else’s property valued at $950 or more.
- Theft by false pretenses (PC 532) – defrauding someone of money or property by way of false promises or representations.
A conviction can result in a fine, and, in certain cases, jail time.
Frequently-Asked-Questions
How is defrauding an innkeeper different than theft?
Defrauding an innkeeper is a type of California theft crime reserved for situations such as:
- dining and dashing,
- skipping out on a hotel bill,
- using a stolen or expired credit card over the internet to pay for food, fuel, services, or accommodations from a hotel, restaurant, or similar business.
The penalties for defrauding an innkeeper are the same as for larceny.
Can I go to jail for not paying a restaurant or hotel?
If the amount taken was $950 or less, the judge will likely impose just a fine and order you to pay back the business. The judge can order up to six months in jail, but that is rare.
If the amount taken was more than $950, the judge can impose up to one year for a misdemeanor and up to three years for a felony. However, because this crime is non-violent, the judge may be agreeable to granting probation with a suspended sentence.
Can I go to jail for skiing without paying?
No. It is only an infraction in California to use – or attempt to use – a ski area facility without paying. (It is also only an infraction to resell a ski lift ticket when resale is unauthorized.)
Infractions carry only a civil penalty of up to $250.
What if I was falsely accused?
Sometimes busy businesses like restaurants and hotels make clerical errors and mistakenly accuse patrons of not paying. Or sometimes a disgruntled employee intentionally levies false allegations at a patron to get them into trouble.
In these types of situations, the truth is your best defense. We conduct a thorough investigation in search of all the evidence indicating you did nothing wrong, and we pore over the state’s evidence for all the weak links and indicia of unreliability.
As long as there is a reasonable doubt as to your guilt, criminal charges cannot stand.
What is an innkeeper?
Innkeepers usually refer to restaurants, bars, hotels or motels. Innkeepers also comprise:
- boardinghouses
- lodginghouses
- apartment houses
- bungalow courts
- marinas
- marina facilities
- autocamps
- ski areas
- public campgrounds
- private campgrounds
Legal References:
- California Penal Code 537 PC – Defrauding providers of food, fuel, services, or accommodations. The language of the code section reads as follows:
(a) Any person who obtains any food, fuel, services, or accommodations at a hotel, inn, restaurant, boardinghouse, lodginghouse, apartment house, bungalow court, motel, marina, marine facility, autocamp, ski area, or public or private campground, without paying therefor, with intent to defraud the proprietor or manager thereof, or who obtains credit at an hotel, inn, restaurant, boardinghouse, lodginghouse, apartment house, bungalow court, motel, marina, marine facility, autocamp, or public or private campground by the use of any false pretense, or who, after obtaining credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations, at an hotel, inn, restaurant, boardinghouse, lodginghouse, apartment house, bungalow court, motel, marina, marine facility, autocamp, or public or private campground, absconds, or surreptitiously, or by force, menace, or threats, removes any part of his or her baggage therefrom with the intent not to pay for his or her food or accommodations is guilty of a public offense punishable as follows:
(1) If the value of the credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations is nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) or less, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding six months, or both.
(2) If the value of the credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations is greater than nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), by imprisonment in a county jail for a term of not more than one year, or in the state prison.
(b) Any person who uses or attempts to use ski area facilities for which payment is required without paying as required, or who resells a ski lift ticket to another when the resale is not authorized by the proprietor, is guilty of an infraction.
(c) Evidence that a person left the premises of such an hotel, inn, restaurant, boardinghouse, lodginghouse, apartment house, bungalow court, motel, marina, marine facility, autocamp, ski area, or public or private campground, without paying or offering to pay for such food, fuel, services, use of facilities, or accommodation, or that the person, without authorization from the proprietor, resold his or her ski lift ticket to another person after making use of such facilities, shall be prima facie evidence of the following:
(1) That the person obtained such food, fuel, services, use of facilities or accommodations with intent to defraud the proprietor or manager.
(2) That, if, after obtaining the credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations, the person absconded, or surreptitiously, or by force, menace, or threats, removed part of his or her baggage therefrom, the person did so with the intent not to pay for the credit, food, fuel, services, or accommodations
- See same; see also People v. Lewis (Cal. App. 2d Dist., 1980), 109 Cal. App. 3d 599, 167 Cal. Rptr. 326; see also People v. Fiene (Cal. App. 2d Dist., 1964), 226 Cal. App. 2d 305, 37 Cal. Rptr. 925.
- California Penal Code 537(a)(1) PC.
- California Penal Code 537(a)(2) PC.