{"id":44675,"date":"2025-11-19T11:20:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T11:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/44675\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T11:20:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T11:20:07","slug":"inside-the-mysterious-life-of-the-brooklyn-dine-and-dash-influencer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/44675\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the\u00a0mysterious\u00a0life of the Brooklyn dine-and-dash influencer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brooklyn\u2019s dine-and-dash influencer<\/a> shows no signs of stopping.<\/p>\n

Fresh off her arraignment on theft of service charges Friday \u2014 after she was arrested five times for non-payment at trendy Williamsburg restaurants \u2014 Pei \u201cLu\u201d Chung was almost immediately accused of ripping off even more restaurants<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The faux influencer was arrested twice Saturday<\/a>, at Sea Thai and Michelin-star Italian hotspot Misi, NYPD reports show, and given supervised release.<\/p>\n

And on Monday night, Chung took to Instagram to post photos of a full mezze platter, lamb and coconut milk pudding from popular Israeli restaurant 12 Chairs \u2014 where she walked out without paying her bill<\/a>, <\/a>management claimed to The Post.<\/p>\n

Fresh off her arraignment on theft of service charges Friday, a Prada-clad Pei Chung posted video of herself at
Herm\u00e8s before another alleged spree of dining and dashing. lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Former friends of Chung\u2019s told The Post that, before her food scams, Chung was a regular on the city\u2019s glittering social scene \u2014\u00a0but disappeared a couple of years ago. lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

The faux influencer was arrested twice Saturday, at Sea Thai (seen here in her post) and Michelin-star Italian hotspot Misi, NYPD reports show, and given supervised release. lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cShe left and didn\u2019t pay,\u201d a source close to the restaurant told The Post, adding that 12 Chairs did not call police.<\/p>\n

Chung, 34,\u00a0has been arrested seven times since late October, after skipping out on high-tally tabs at restaurants like Peter Luger, Francie and Lavender Lake.<\/p>\n

Owners and chefs told The Post how Chung comes in \u201cdressed to the nines,\u201d takes photos of her food, then tries to barter with social-media posts or used credit cards that are inevitably declined.<\/p>\n

Chung, 34,\u00a0has been arrested seven times since late October, after skipping out on high-tally tabs at restaurants like Peter Luger, Francie and Lavender Lake. lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

A manager at Peter Luger alleged to The Post that Chung even tried to offer a sexual favor to cover her meal, The Post reported Sunday.<\/p>\n

Former friends told The Post that, prior to her savory scams, Chung was a regular on the city\u2019s glittering social scene \u2014 elegantly dressed in Prada and Louis Vuitton at classical music galasand nightclubs \u2014\u00a0but disappeared a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n

Born in Taiwan, Chung says on her personal website that she studied ballet and classical piano, started playing the violin at age 3 and earned a 99 percentile rank on that country\u2019s national exam. She also notes that she was \u201coperating a rifle at age 17.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

After earning a master degree in fine arts at the National University of Kaohsiung, she seems to have moved to New York around 2019 to attend Pratt University on a \u201cfull-ride merit scholarship,\u201d according to her LinkedIn profile, studying Information Experience Design and Information Technology.<\/p>\n

After earning a master degree in fine arts at the National University of Kaohsiung, Chung seems to have moved to New York around 2019 to attend Pratt University on a \u201cfull-ride merit scholarship,\u201d according to her LinkedIn profile. lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

She was regularly photographed with Taiwanese socialites around Manhattan in 2021, partying at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Midtown in October 2021 and at Buddakan in the Meatpacking District.<\/a><\/p>\n

Chung wore a black off-the-shoulder dress to Arte Cafe on the Upper West Side and a bra top to Nebula nightclub in Midtown.<\/a><\/p>\n

A friend who met Chung during the pandemic told The Post they bonded over classical music and that she was active on the Taiwanese social circuit in NYC.<\/p>\n

Chung, seen here in the middle with bangs, was regularly photographed with Taiwanese socialites around Manhattan in 2021, partying at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Midtown in October 2021. drdavidtai\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Chung (right), was seen out with friends at popular Meatpacking District restaurant Buddakan in 2021. drdavidtai\/Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cShe invited me to concerts<\/a> and museums. We also had meals together several times, either alone or with friends,\u201d the young man said, asking to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe treated me before, after I invited her to a concert. She wasn\u2019t the kind of girl that expects guys to pay. When we went out as a group, she also paid for her portion. I don\u2019t know about her other actual dates though.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was always very polite, well-mannered, and showed strong interest in art and education. She\u2019s a smart girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was always very polite, well-mannered, and showed strong interest in art and education. She\u2019s a smart girl,\u201d a friend who met Chung during the pandemic told The Post. lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

On Monday, Chung allegedly resumed her antics at Israeli restaurant 12 Chairs in Williamsburg. A source close to the restaurant told The Post she did not pay for her meal. lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

But things took a dark turn, the friend said, when Chung suddenly started talking about an \u201cex boyfriend.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cShe had been acting a bit strange, so I reached out to check in and ask if she was OK or needed any help. She started messaging me saying she wasn\u2019t well \u2014 that her ex had come to New York, was stalking her, and that she was scared. We spoke on the phone a few times because it seemed like she needed someone to talk to and calm her down,\u201d the friend said, adding that Chung sounded like \u201ca completely different person\u201d than before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like there were two sides of her, and she was extremely distressed \u2026 different person, different voice, tone, personality, and way of thinking. At one point, she was so frightened that she asked if I could stay with her and pretend to be her boyfriend. I told her that if she truly needed someone for safety, I could go accompany her. But her behavior became increasingly unusual, so I never went.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, the friend said, Chung disappeared.<\/p>\n

A source told The Post Chung \u201cwent off the grid all of the sudden\u201d after December 2021. \u201cA lot of our friends stopped seeing her. She doesn\u2019t come out anymore,\u201d said the source.\u00a0 lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Another source confirmed she \u201cwent off the grid all of the sudden\u201d after December 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our friends stopped seeing her. She doesn\u2019t come out anymore,\u201d said the source, who asked to withhold his name.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried to see if she\u2019s OK. We got concerned. She was our friend. We\u2019re like, \u2018Why did you stop coming out?\u2019 She mentioned it was something about her ex that he was tracking her down. She was in hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that, the source said of Chung, \u201cshe didn\u2019t reply and she was gone. She unfollowed me. All the people that I know who once knew her don\u2019t talk to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chung attempted to offer to post photos she took of her meal in exchange for not paying at Francie in Williamsburg on Oct. 22. lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

According to Chung\u2019s LinkedIn<\/a>, she briefly worked as a contract UX (user experience) designer for companies including Chase<\/a>, Comcast and Vanguard. But her last posted job was in March 2023 \u2014 and she lists herself as \u201csemi retired.\u201d<\/p>\n

She began posting influencer-style food photos that year \u2014\u00a0from places like L\u2019abeille, a French restaurant <\/a>in Tribeca, and Jean-Georges.<\/p>\n

Chung, who lives in a luxury apartment tower in Williamsburg<\/a>, also tags brands for the clothes and accessories she\u2019s wearing: Prada, Dior, Cartier, Burberry. Before her 12 Chairs jaunt, Chung posted a video of herself shopping at\u00a0Herm\u00e8s in Williamsburg, the neighborhood she rarely seems to leave.<\/p>\n

According to a Reddit user who claims to have matched with Chung on the dating app Hinge, she\u2019s ready to exchange her nightlife knowledge for tips on equity trading. lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew where to get drinks [to] match your looks,\u201d Chung allegedly wrote in an exchange on dating app Hinge. \u201cIf you can exchange your knowledge about that, I will take you to the place.\u201d lu.pychung\/Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how she\u2019s affording it. The stuff that she uses and buys, she\u2019s flexing it and she wants people to know,\u201d the source said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both friends said they were shocked by news of her dine-and-dash schemes.<\/p>\n

But Chung\u2019s also seemingly got a new plan up her designer sleeve.<\/p>\n

According to a Reddit <\/a>user who claims to have matched with Chung on the dating app Hinge, she\u2019s ready to exchange her nightlife knowledge for tips on equity trading.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew where to get drinks [to] match your looks,\u201d she allegedly wrote. \u201cIf you can exchange your knowledge about that, I will take you to the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just be sure to bring your wallet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brooklyn\u2019s dine-and-dash influencer shows no signs of stopping. Fresh off her arraignment on theft of service charges Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,303,4686,9,24,63,821,17649,58,1424],"class_list":{"0":"post-44675","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","10":"tag-brooklyn-news","11":"tag-crime","12":"tag-influencers","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-restaurants","17":"tag-taiwan","18":"tag-us-news","19":"tag-williamsburg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}