Cops: Woman Put $5000 Tip On Beau's Plastic

JULY 2--Following an argument with her boyfriend during a trip to Florida, a Buffalo woman illegally used the man’s credit card to pay for a $55.37 meal, on top of which she added a $5000 tip for the waitress, investigators charge.

According to a criminal complaint, Serina Wolfe, 24, last Thursday quarreled with Michael Crane while they were vacationing in Clearwater. At one point, Wolfe and Crane argued about Wolfe “wanting a flight home to New York.”

Crane told cops that he refused to pay for an airline ticket and “placed a hold on his credit card.” It was after Crane released the hold on his Capital One Savor card that Wolfe allegedly committed a felony.

Wolfe, the complaint charges, used the credit card at the Clear Sky Beachside Café in Clearwater Beach. The court filing does not indicate how Wolfe came into possession of the plastic.

After being presented with a check for $55.37, Wolfe paid for her dinner with the Capital One card and added the four-figure tip.

Upon learning of the $5055.37 charge, Crane spoke with Wolfe, who “denied making the purchase.” Crane, who reported the charge as fraudulent, told police that he suspected Wolfe was “drunk or trying to get back at him.”

When notified about the fraudulent charge, the restaurant reported that it “had already paid out their waitress for the amount of $5000 for the tip.”

During a police interview, Wolfe reportedly confessed to making the charge. A Clearwater Police Department officer reported that Wolfe “voluntarily handed me the card and said this is the one I used to pay the $5055.37 tab.”

Pictured above, Wolfe was arrested yesterday afternoon for grand theft. She is being held in the county jail in lieu of $1000 bond, and has been ordered by a judge to have no contact with Crane.

According to 2017 news reports, Wolfe was arrested in May of that year for stealing the wallet of a man she met a Buffalo-area bar. When collared, Wolfe had more than $500 stashed in her underwear. The victim’s wallet was found in a dumpster. The disposition of that grand larceny case could not be determined. (1 page)