A Warning To The Ladies: This Serial Dine-And-Dasher Is Leaving His Dates With The Check

From bad breath to self-absorbed talkers, bad dates are par for the course when you're single. But this guy makes a habit (and gets a free meal!) out of being the world's worst date. A California man posing as Paul Gonzales (among other pseudonyms) is making dates with women on dating sites and apps. He plans dinner dates at various locations in the greater Los Angeles area and orders an expensive meal. Then, like clockwork, the unknown man disappears on his dates without a trace, leaving them to foot the check for both parties.

One woman told CBS that she met "Dave Gonzales" on Bumble and set up a dinner date at a restaurant in Pasadena. She said that almost immediately after he sat down he ordered an enormous meal — a glass of pinot, a Caesar salad with a side of shrimp, a steak, and a baked potato. He then ate most of the meal, left to "take an important phone call," and never returned.

"I was shocked that anybody would do this. And I even texted him, 'Is everything OK?' And obviously he never responded," the woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told CBS.

Stories of the anonymous dine-and-dasher go back as far as August 2016. Although he has not been caught yet, police are actively seeking the man, who always operates under the name "Gonzales" in the Los Angeles area.