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'No Tip' Server Lied About Having Cancer, Serving In Afghanistan, Say Friends
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 27, 2013
Modified Nov 28, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 27, 2013
Modified Nov 28, 2013
Share
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Right after a receipt and credit card statement suggested a NJ server's tale about bigoted customers was a hoax, a local newspaper from her hometown started digging into her past. And now the Journal News reports that Dayna Morales, "has a reputation for lying," according to former colleagues and friends.
People were rallying around Morales and sending her tips after she shared a photograph of a receipt she got back at her work, NJ restaurant Asian Gallop Bistro. The receipt showed no tip, with the note, "I'm sorry but I cannot tip because I do not agree with your lifestyle and how you live your life." But then the family came forward saying that they actually did leave a tip, showing their copy of the receipt and a credit card statement that suggested they were truthful.
According to the Journal News, Morales lied about having cancer, her military service and damage to her home during Hurricane Sandy:
[She told] co-workers she shaved her head because she had brain cancer and later telling them it was her friend who had brain cancer, her colleagues and friends said.
They said she also told co-workers at a day care center where she once worked that Superstorm Sandy severely damaged her home in Stony Point, and sent a boat into her living room. Concerned co-workers dropped by her home and found only minor damage to the carpet by her front door and no sign of a boat, they said...
Morales told people she was a former Marine who was sent to Afghanistan and that everyone in her platoon died in an explosion except her, [a co-worker and a friend] said. The explosion left her with back injuries that required surgery and a couple of months to recover, Larkin said Morales told her employer. But during her time off, Morales posted photos of herself on Facebook enjoying a trip to Florida with a girlfriend, they said.
Though a military spokesman confirmed Morales did serve in the Marines, he added, "There is no indication of combat service in Iraq or Afghanistan" and she didn't fulfill her reserve obligation.
Ex-co-worker Julie Howat told the Journal News, "Every story she comes up with has a lie... Any tragedy that happened, she had to be a part of it. She needed sympathy and empathy." This time, Howat said, "It’s like she’s taking it to a whole other level. Now you’re lying to people to get their money. It’s not even for sympathy now."
When she was confronted by the family's claim that they did tip her, Morales said the handwriting on the receipt wasn't hers. But the Journal News spoke to an ex-girlfriend who said that it looked Morales' writing.
Morales is no longer responding to requests for comment, but the restaurant owners say they're investigating the allegation.
Tagged
antigay
asian gallop bistro
cancer
check
dayna morales
fabulist
faker
hurricane sandy
military
receipt
tip
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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