#Man arrested for allegedly calling in thousands of dollars worth of fake pizza orders

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Sudeep Khetani
South Brunswick Twp Police Department

A New Jersey man accused of calling in thousands of dollars worth of bogus food orders during the coronavirus pandemic, including some he claimed were for cops, has been arrested, police said.

Sudeep Khetani, 34, of Kendall Park in South Brunswick Township, was busted Tuesday, some four months after he was initially charged with theft for exploiting several New Jersey pizzerias and restaurants, police said Wednesday.

Using fake phone numbers, Khetani made several hundred calls to pizzerias in South Brunswick, as well as other pizza joints and restaurants in Montgomery, Plainsboro and West Windsor between mid-January and early April, costing them several thousand dollars in total losses, police said.

Khetani placed the orders with no intention of picking up or paying for the grub and made threatening and sexually explicit comments to employees who answered the phone, police said.

In some instances, when the restaurants called Khetani back, he said he wished Italians would get infected with the coronavirus, according to police.

Khetani was arrested with help from police in Orlando, Florida, where he was on probation for selling fake Disney World tickets. A South Brunswick police detective managed to track him down via several subpoenas and numerous interviews, department officials said.

“His hard work put an end to Khetani’s alarming actions,” South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said Wednesday.

During one of Khetani’s more than a dozen calls, he told an employee the food was destined for South Brunswick police, Hayducka said, adding that many of the restaurants he targeted had either donated food or received orders from people wanting to thank hospital staffers or first responders for their efforts during the pandemic.

“We have had several residents send us food, which I appreciate tremendously, but this suspect has gone to a new low,” the chief said in April. “Our businesses are all struggling and every dollar matters.”

Khetani, who was charged Tuesday with cyber harassment, is also facing a count of promoting prostitution in an unrelated incident last year, police said.