Brooklyn Heights Busted Chef Reborn as The Montauk Grifter

By on February 14, 2012 7:59 pm in crime

We hate to say “we told you so,” but we told you so. The Notorious Busted Chef, Dan Kaufman, is up to his conning ways again. Gawker reports today that Kaufman was busted last month in Montauk by NYPD detectives:

Read BHB’s original coverage of the Busted Chef saga now.

Gawker: Kaufman was arrested by NYPD detectives late last month in Montauk, N.Y. He’s accused of defrauding a New York mobile advertising startup called CloudMob Media, which he had conned into hiring him as its chief technology officer, out of $20,000. He allegedly used the money to rent a beach house in Montauk, where he spent much of last summer and fall regaling a sophisticated social circle of New Yorkers—including the editor of this very website—with a never-ending cascade of extravagant lies. He relentlessly trawled the free dating site OkCupid, duping untold numbers of women (I spoke to three; their experiences suggest dozens more) into dating him. And he did it all while busily working to launch a new social network that would bring credibility and trust back the internet.

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  • nabeguy

    Forget jail for this guy, it doesn’t seem to work. Cutting his tongue out, however, might.

  • Publius

    Unreal. Society functions from a basic level of trust. This guy is the antithesis of that social contract. He needs to spend a long time removed from society–and a lot of therapy.

  • AEB

    Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and grifters gotta grift. Apparently.

  • http://pistachiopony.com maria

    Call me old fashioned, but I’m with nabeguy.
    These type of guys end up with cement shoes when they cross the wrong person, that’s how I predict it will end with him.

  • nabeguy

    As medieval as my punishment comes across, I’m not exactly advocating for his demise. Perhaps something more benign might be in order…like the word LIAR being tattooed on his forehead. As long as there are people with ears, this d-bag seems to find the most vulnerable ones.

  • resident

    @Publius: You’re kidding yourself if you think our penal system would do anything rehabilitative such as getting therapy.

    @Nabeguy: A bit Scarlet Letter-esque, no?

    This guy tried to take me for a couple hundred bucks. I’m sure he won’t stop, hopefully he gets the maximum sentence available, which should be lengthy for at least a second conviction.

  • Publius

    Resident: The therapy would be on his own dime. The penitentiary would be on yours and mine.

  • resident

    @Publius: I doubt he’ll have a dime to his name when all is said and done, unless, of course, he starts grifting again when he gets out.

  • x

    he needs tp stay in prison

  • nabeguy

    @resident, you know he’s going to start grifting again when he gets out…it’s all he knows. I’m sticking with the tattoo.

  • davoyager

    I wish I had his energy and resourcefulness. But really: $20K? That’s small time nonsense compared to a Romney or Gingrich for example.

  • Andrew Porter

    Just read the Gawker article, and it’s stunning. This guy is a true sociopath. At least he wasn’t into killing people he met, charmed and befriended. Here’s a link to the Gawker article:

    http://tinyurl.com/7nl6zop

  • Ex-Heightster

    Except for being maniacal con artist & crook, he seems like a swell guy.

  • Villager

    Is this one of his incarnations?
    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/daniel-katze/22/691/331
    The claims all seem so outrageous, I’m suspicious.

  • Gerry

    For some reason I feel sad for this guy?
    He is innocent til proven guilty there are two sides to every story.

  • Hayley

    The woman quoted in the article, Selena, is an old friend of mine – she had posted incredulous stories on her blog a few years back. This guy is a real piece of work.

  • David on Middagh

    Villager,
    It’s funny, but when you image-search on “daniel katze”, you get a lot of German katzen named “Daniel”.

  • Willow St. Neighbor

    Andrew,
    I have to agree with you and also state that sociopaths cannot be rehabilitated. They have no conscience.

  • Gerry

    He is a handsome guy!

    I suspect that prison will be vary hard on this crook.

    Gone will be his nice haircut once per month, high class dentist, personal trainer. and desiner clothing.

  • my2cents

    I shudder recalling his sh*tty restaurants, too. They were the WORST.

  • bananabread

    Gerry: how do you live with only half a brain made of butterscotch pudding? You are a world class moron.

  • Willow St. Neighbor

    bananabread,
    Thank you for the very first belly laugh of the day!!!!!

  • Gerry

    @ bananabread – prison is hard. I have had a few patients who have spent time in prison and they had a very hard time. This crook is going to prison for a long time his life will be altered and he may not survive.

  • nabeguy

    @Gerry…survive? This guy is capable of talking himself into a job as prison chef. But, as my2cents can surely attest, that would be considered cruel and unusual punishment by his fellow inmates.