A Florida man allegedly impersonated a popular pizzeria — once given a favorable review from Barstool Sports founder and pizza critic Dave Portnoy — to fool unsuspecting tourists into ordering undercooked and “fraudulently priced” food.
Jose Marti-Alvarez, 55, is accused of “falsely advertising” his business in hotels throughout Miami Springs as the popular Roman’s Pizzeria and conning hungry customers into buying inedible food to make money off the shop’s notoriety, according to police.
Marti-Alvarez allegedly targeted hotels near Miami International Airport.
Law enforcement says the alleged fraudster pulled off the scam for several years and slowly tarnished Roman’s Pizzeria’s name.
Customers filed complaints against the actual pizza joint with the Better Business Bureau and negative reviews online.
The owner of Roman’s Pizzeria, Jesus Roman, said he’s been dealing with the issue for years and first caught wind of the scam when upset customers started reaching out to his shop.
“Sometimes they show up upset here to the store claiming, ‘Where’s the food?’” Roman told Local 10.
“We have to explain to them that it’s not us.”
After the complaints began to mount, Roman — who has owned the pizzeria for over 40 years — said he had filed a police report.
Marti-Alvarez was nabbed by police Monday and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The alleged fraudster was charged with “organized scheme to defraud.”
The suspected pizza imposter is also facing an aggravated battery charge for allegedly hitting a hotel staff member with his vehicle when he tried to flee after being confronted in the parking lot, according to police.
Marti-Alvarez appeared in a Miami-Dade court Monday and was ordered by Judge Mindy Glazer to avoid the Days Inn — the hotel where he hit the worker, according to Local 10.
After discovering Marti-Alvarez was arrested, Roman had a stern message for the man ruining his business reputation.
“At least if you’re going to do something, do it right,” he told Local 10.
Portnoy rated Roman’s Pizzeria in April 2022 and branded the shop’s plain cheese pizza a “solid 7.4.”
“The crust is the show stopper for this pizza — super fresh, super light. Good undercarriage,” the Barstool Sports founder said in his review.
The pizza aficionado called the slice a “football pizza,” perfect for eating while lounging around during kickoffs on Sunday, and could be ordered “100 out of 100 times” without disappointment.
“Pretty good stuff. The crust is probably about a 7.8, to be honest,” the pizza connoisseur said in his final comments on the pie.
