Security footage reveals bizarre method used by scammer to get a free dinner – minutes before he pops the question to his fiancée
This is the bizarre moment a couple were caught red-handed putting their own hair on their plate at a restaurant to try and claim a free meal – before getting engaged outside moments later.
The couple, who have not been named, were dining at Steel Coop in Livingstone, Tennessee, when they tried to bag a free meal.
CCTV footage shows a man taking a clump of pre-plucked hair from his pocket and sprinkling it over his plate, before calling a waitress over to complain.
The manager Patrick Jones agreed to take the meal of their bill but as they left the restaurant, another customer informed Mr Jones the diner had placed the hair their himself.
Furious, the manager chased after the couple only to stumble across the pair getting engaged outside the restaurant.
Speaking to a local TV reporter, Mr Jones said it looked like the customer had ‘pulled a wad of hair out of their head and placed it right on [the] plate’.
‘It’s a struggle for restaurants. We don’t need this kind of thing happening. It’s not always the restaurant that is wrong.
‘He was proposing to her on the side steps there, and I stopped him. I said, “look, don’t come back here again”.’
A couple were caught red-handed plucking out their own hair and placing them on their plate at a restaurant to try and claim a free meal
After finishing their meal, the two complained to manager Patrick Jones that they had found hair in one of their meals and the cost was taken off the bill
The owners decided not to press charges because they’re based in a small town where everyone knows each other and they were concerned about the results of involving the police.
They added they ‘weren’t the type’ and they felt the man had been punished enough with the story being made so public.
Patrick added that he was conscious that they could be regular scammers and didn’t want other restaurants to fall victim to them.
Following the embarrassing stunt, the man’s mother came to the restaurant and paid for the engaged couple’s meal, which came to $20 (£15.44) – although Patrick noted she didn’t apologise on their behalf.
But, he added: ‘You could tell she was embarrassed.’
In the CCTV – which was posted to the restaurant’s Facebook page – the couple carefully look around them to make sure no one is watching before the woman pulls out some hair and carefully placing it on top of their food.
Alongside the video, the manager wrote: ‘These fine folks came in over the weekend and placed hair in their entree to get it for free. Please be aware of scammers such as these.’
People went straight to the comments to poke fun at the situation with Cindy Cooper writing: ‘Biggest thing is he proposed to her after all this went down. It happened in front of the restaurant. What a winner she has’.
Manager Patrick Jones and Cindy Jones (pictured) revealed that after discovering the scam, they ran out after them only to stumble upon them proposing on the steps of the restaurant
People went straight to the comments underneath the restaurant’s video of the CCTV to poke fun at the situation
Another said ‘I’m glad you caught it on video! I bet they’ve scammed several restaurants with that. Well here’s to their engagement memories… if they’ll come back next year and they make it a year, heck I’ll buy their dinner.’
Kristine Journey-Medaska commented: ‘I love they got caught! How stupid they should feel! If you can’t afford to go out to eat, don’t go out!’.
Anoter wrote, ‘They both seemed to be acting weird so it was obviously planned before they even went to the restaurant, disgusting thieves and I’m sure they were great tippers!’.
It comes after an already-married couple who faked a proposal in order to get free drinks at a restaurant defended their actions.
In a now-viral video posted to X earlier this month, Joseph Vasquez, 32, was seen getting down on one knee to ‘propose’ to his wife, Jaela, 27, in the middle of a crowded restaurant at a resort in Hawaii.
The couple had their fellow diners completely fooled, as the entire room erupted into enthusiastic cheers and claps.
The Vasquez’s even took it a step further, as he picked up his wife and swung her around in the air, sharing a passionate kiss together after she said ‘yes.’
But the scene was just for theatrics, as Jaela admitted what was really happening in the caption.
‘My husband fake proposed to get us free drinks last night,’ she wrote on X.
Jaela’s admission sparked a slew of outrage – but she told DailyMail.com exclusively that she doesn’t think they ‘did anything wrong.’
She explained that she and her husband are actually newlyweds, as they got married in December 2024.
An already-married couple who faked a proposal in order to get free drinks at a restaurant is speaking out – and they’re standing by their actions, even if haters think it’s wrong
In a now-viral video posted to X earlier this month, Joseph Vasquez, 32, was seen getting down on one knee to ‘propose’ to his wife, Jaela, 27, in the middle of a restaurant in Hawaii
Jaela’s admission sparked a slew of outrage – but she told DailyMail.com exclusively that she doesn’t think they ‘did anything wrong’
‘That was our first time doing a “fake proposal,”‘ Jaela explained, adding that it kind of happened in the moment.
She admitted that she and her husband were dancing with resort-goers beforehand when the idea hit him.
‘When we first came in, there was a live DJ, but everyone was seated. We encouraged the guests to get up and have a dance with us,’ Jaela dished.
‘As the night went on, everyone was having an amazing time and dancing with one another,’ she continued.
‘My husband decided to maximize the amount of fun we were having by doing a “fake proposal.” From there, we received the drinks.’
The video that Jaela posted sparked a slew of backlash for the couple, with some people calling them ‘scammers.’
‘You must be so proud to be scammers and grifters,’ one person wrote in response.
Another user typed, ‘That is disgusting! Such a cheap behavior!’
