US man 'faked heart attacks to avoid paying bills'

A 52-year-old Wisconsin man has been accused of faking heart attacks to avoid paying restaurant bills and cab fares.

Police say the man from Waukesha near Milwaukee took a cab to a shopping mall Monday and pretended to have a heart attack. The cab driver left unpaid.

Authorities say the man then ran up a $23 (€15) bill when he had a steak dinner at a restaurant. He again pretended to have a heart attack.

This time the fire department took him to a hospital. A doctor there recognised the man as having pulled the same stunt in the past few weeks.

He was charged with defrauding a restaurant as a habitual criminal. He could get up to nine months in prison and a $10,000 (€6,400) fine.