Man charged with fraud ‘for spending six free nights at hotel by claiming to be NHS staff’

Man, 30, is charged with fraud ‘for spending six free nights at hotel by claiming to be NHS A&E hospital worker’

  • Ben Quince, 30, checked into Casa Hotel in Chesterfield posing as NHS staff 
  • He allegedly told emergency hotel staff he worked in the local A&E department
  • The hotel was offering free services for NHS staff battling coronavirus outbreak
  • He was charged for fraud by false representation at Southern Derby Magistrates

A 30-year-old man has been charged with fraud after allegedly spending six free nights at a hotel by claiming to be an NHS worker.

Ben Quince checked into the Casa Hotel in Lockoford Lane, Chesterfield, at the end of March on a floor reserved for NHS staff, Derbyshire Police said.

He stayed at the four-star accommodation for six nights and allegedly told staff he worked in the A&E department at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

Ben Quince has been charged after allegedly duping his way into Case Hotel in Chesterfield (pictured) by claiming he worked in the local Accident and Emergency

The 30-year-old was said to have tried to capitalise on the hotel providing free stay for NHS workers tackling coronavirus by checking in as a Chesterfield Royal (pictured) medical worker

The 30-year-old was said to have tried to capitalise on the hotel providing free stay for NHS workers tackling coronavirus by checking in as a Chesterfield Royal (pictured) medical worker

Like hotels up and down the country, Casa Hotel is among those offering complimentary lodgings for health workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, the force said.

Mr Quince, of Burley Lane, Quarndon, has been charged with fraud by false representation.

He appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on Monday and was bailed to appear again at a later date, police said.

Hotels across the UK have now opened their doors for NHS workers, with rooms now shut to the general public.

Former Premier League footballers Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs were among the first to make their jointly owned Stock Exchange and Hotel Football in Manchester fully available.

The establishments were closed to the public, with access to the 176 beds given to medical staff as a show of solidarity during the coronavirus pandemic.

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