Man admits false claim following break in of food truck

In August, a food truck which operated as The Masked Chef, was broken into, causing damage to the truck and seeing goods stolen.

One of the owners of The Masked Chef, Sam McNicholas, said among the items stolen were canned drinks and spices, worth around £150, as well as the smoker, which he said was worth nearly £500.

The food truck sustained damage during the break in (Image: Facebook) Messages seen by The Oldham Times showed that Mr McNicholas had exaggerated the extent of what was stolen from the food truck to "pull on the heartstrings" of people and to create a "story of the comeback".

Now, Mr McNicholas has admitted that this was a false claim and that the smoker was not taken. He has also claimed other items were taken during the robbery which were previously not mentioned.

He said: "The comments made regarding the robbery and the stolen smoker was made in jest between who at the time I thought was friends in a group chat.

"We needed all the help we could get at the time and yes we were desperate, but no lies were told.

"My van was robbed, money, goods, the till, an iPhone 13 Pro Max which was the works phone and a catalytic converter was taken along with having to replace the steel door, damaged kitchen equipment, all the locks. The total cost due to the robbery was north of £2,500 which is what we reported.

The Masked Chef (Image: Facebook)

"I may have falsely reported a smoker being stolen but what I didn’t report was the catalytic converter on my delivery van was stolen, costing us £900 to replace. I have shown The Oldham Times the CCTV confirming this. My choice of words was wrong but I did not lie about damages and costs."

The Masked Chef had only been open a number of weeks before the food truck was broken into, which caused the £2,500 worth of damage.

Less than two weeks after opening, The Masked Chef, which was based in Royton, shut down.

Mr McNicholas has claimed that a former employee at The Masked Chef stole from himself and the business and has reported this to the police, who confirmed they have logged the allegation.

CCTV captured the individual suspected of breaking into the van (Image: Supplied)Mr McNicholas said: "I am a good man, I have worked on myself and my company for years to get to a healthy point.

"I donate to charities, I rescue animals, I give work to and employ many people in the community, I am a big advocate for mental health and I have helped many people mentally and physically without wanting anything in return.

"The Masked Chef was a risk that didn’t work out with who I thought were friends but we believe takings were being stolen from us each week.

"Even when we sold out of food each night we would be at a loss. We were open six weeks but in the end we were at an £8,000 loss after selling the van. It’s a shame but we live and we learn and we have to move on."