What appeared as an amazingly generous gesture turned out to be an act of revenge, after a Florida woman left a $5,000 tip to a waitress using her boyfriend’s credit card to get back at him after an argument.

24-year-old Serina Wolfe was arrested on Monday on a felony theft charge for allegedly using her boyfriend’s credit card to leave an unusually generous $5,000 tip, or 10,000% of her total bill, at the Clear Sky Cafe in Clearwater Beach, on June 27. The waitress initially thought that Wolfe was simply incredibly generous, but later learned that the 24-year-old had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend and used his credit card just to take revenge on him.

Photo: jarmoluk/Pixabay

Michael Crane, whose card was used for the $5,000 tip, told police that he and Wolfe had gotten into a verbal argument after he refused to buy her an airplane ticket back to New York. She must have mentioned something about using his credit card, because he admitted putting a hold on his credit card after their fight. However, he had the hold removed eventually, allowing his girlfriend to use it to make a waitress’ day a whole much better.

Crane claims he reported the $5,000 charge to his credit card as fraudulent, but by the time the restaurant was notified, it had already paid the generous tip to the waitress. To make matters worse, the money was particularly meaningful to the recipient who was going through a tough time after putting down her dog.

 

According to the police affidavit, Serina Wolfe initially lied about leaving the tip to get back at her boyfriend, but later confessed. She has not yet entered a plea.

Police told The Tampa Bay Times that because the theft was reported after the tip was paid by the restaurant, whether the waitress keeps the $5,000 tip is up to her and the restaurant.