I'd say that you need a certain amount of trust around to make society work, and maintaining that trust requires that there be some real consequence when you go

I'd say that you need a certain amount of trust around to make society work, and maintaining that trust requires that there be some real consequence when you go too far outside the lines. I don't think anybody would like it if, say, every hotel in the country wouldn't give you a room without the full cost prepaid in a confirmed bank transfer ahead of time, plus enough of a deposit to cover any mess you might make. Particularly the actual high-roller customers that they really want. And so people generally get a certain amount of trust extended to them, generally with various bad consequences for violating that trust. Not a lawyer, but I think you can technically be charged criminally for most such thefts. It's just not commonly done for single acts and small amounts, because the process is expensive for everyone, and more modest measures are usually good enough for everyone involved. But when you run around like Anna did, constantly juggling bank accounts and credit cards and making promises all over the city but never actually paying anyone, and keep it going for months and months and do it to like a half dozen hotels, eventually, there needs to be some firmer consequences than just trying to get money out of a stone.