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Saturday, Jul 18, 2026
Outside the box.
For 36 Years, He Scammed About 300 Luxury Hotels — Until He Was Caught
Indian police arrested 69-year-old Bingson John after he allegedly left a luxury hotel without paying his bill and stole a laptop, bringing a decades-long series of suspected hotel scams to an end.
Bingson John’s final bill amounted to only about $740, but it marked the end of the road for the sophisticated con man.
Police in India arrested the 69-year-old, who is suspected of spending more than three decades perfecting a scheme that allowed him to stay at luxury hotels across the country without paying a single rupee.
For 36 years, John, a resident of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, maintained an extraordinary lifestyle that alternated between burglaries and detention cells.
He stayed at about 300 luxury hotels across India without paying, variously presenting himself as a foreign tour guide, an English teacher or a yoga instructor.
John enjoyed the lavish rooms and hotel services, then disappeared shortly before checkout.
That long sequence of alleged frauds has now come to an end.
Bingson John — the "five-star con man"
The so-called "five-star con man" was arrested in Bhubaneswar just 72 hours after the Hyatt hotel in Raipur filed a complaint against him.
John allegedly stayed at the hotel from June 25 to June 27. Shortly before disappearing, he asked hotel employees to lend him a laptop, claiming that he needed to complete urgent work.
He left without settling a bill of 63,755 rupees, approximately $740, and allegedly took the laptop with him.
The computer was valued at about 148,000 rupees, or roughly $1,700.
After the hotel’s attempts to contact him failed, its management filed a police complaint.
A joint investigation by the local cybercrime and criminal investigation units traced the documents and telephone numbers John had supplied at check-in.
Using technological surveillance, officers located and arrested him, and the stolen laptop was returned to the hotel.
During questioning, John reportedly cooperated without hesitation and disclosed an extensive criminal history spanning more than 10 Indian states since 1990. He told investigators that he had drawn inspiration for his methods from Charles Sobhraj, the notorious serial killer and international con man whose story became the subject of the hit Netflix series "The Serpent."
Hyatt Raipur, the final stop of the "five-star con man"
According to John, his world was turned upside down in the early 1990s when his fiancée died.
He abandoned his plans to marry and entered the world of fraud.
His first arrest came in 1996, and he has since spent about 15 years of his life behind bars, including time at the notorious Tihar Jail, where he associated with serious criminals.
Investigators said John showed no remorse and even offered an amusing description of his routine.
"Prisons are my guesthouses, and luxury hotels are my holiday destinations," he said, adding that he preferred to eat only in those two places.
Police are now working to verify his claims and compile all the criminal cases pending against him across India.
Police in India arrested the 69-year-old, who is suspected of spending more than three decades perfecting a scheme that allowed him to stay at luxury hotels across the country without paying a single rupee.
For 36 years, John, a resident of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, maintained an extraordinary lifestyle that alternated between burglaries and detention cells.
He stayed at about 300 luxury hotels across India without paying, variously presenting himself as a foreign tour guide, an English teacher or a yoga instructor.
John enjoyed the lavish rooms and hotel services, then disappeared shortly before checkout.
That long sequence of alleged frauds has now come to an end.
Bingson John — the "five-star con man"
The so-called "five-star con man" was arrested in Bhubaneswar just 72 hours after the Hyatt hotel in Raipur filed a complaint against him.
John allegedly stayed at the hotel from June 25 to June 27. Shortly before disappearing, he asked hotel employees to lend him a laptop, claiming that he needed to complete urgent work.
He left without settling a bill of 63,755 rupees, approximately $740, and allegedly took the laptop with him.
The computer was valued at about 148,000 rupees, or roughly $1,700.
After the hotel’s attempts to contact him failed, its management filed a police complaint.
A joint investigation by the local cybercrime and criminal investigation units traced the documents and telephone numbers John had supplied at check-in.
Using technological surveillance, officers located and arrested him, and the stolen laptop was returned to the hotel.
During questioning, John reportedly cooperated without hesitation and disclosed an extensive criminal history spanning more than 10 Indian states since 1990. He told investigators that he had drawn inspiration for his methods from Charles Sobhraj, the notorious serial killer and international con man whose story became the subject of the hit Netflix series "The Serpent."
Hyatt Raipur, the final stop of the "five-star con man"
According to John, his world was turned upside down in the early 1990s when his fiancée died.
He abandoned his plans to marry and entered the world of fraud.
His first arrest came in 1996, and he has since spent about 15 years of his life behind bars, including time at the notorious Tihar Jail, where he associated with serious criminals.
Investigators said John showed no remorse and even offered an amusing description of his routine.
"Prisons are my guesthouses, and luxury hotels are my holiday destinations," he said, adding that he preferred to eat only in those two places.
Police are now working to verify his claims and compile all the criminal cases pending against him across India.
