A travel agent took money for a cruise, a destination wedding, and a large family birthday trip — and, police say, the bookings didn’t exist or weren’t ever paid to travel providers. Now travelers are out $53,000.
The woman is accused of taking clients money for trips and then not actually booking what was promised and not issuing refunds.
- Fake Royal Caribbean cruise. Police allege that on July 8, 2024, Thomas took $35,753.98 from nine victims who believed they were buying tickets for a Royal Caribbean cruise departing Bayonne, New Jersey.
When the group arrived at the port, they were told their tickets were fraudulent and that the cruise they booked “did not exist.”
- Destination wedding never booked Police allege that on July 16, 2024, Thomas received $5,000 from two victims to arrange a destination wedding. The resort venues through ALG Vacations were never booked.
- Dominican Republic 75th birthday trip wasn’t paid. Police allege that on September 4, 2024, a victim reported booking a 75th birthday trip to the Dominican Republic for her mother. The agent collected $10,034.16 from 51 family members, but accommodations were never paid.
Charges are three counts of Grand Larceny, three counts of Scheme to Defraud, and two counts of Grand Larceny. The agent has a Better Business Bureau rating of “F.”
I just wrote a couple of weeks ago about a travel agent that took payments from 104 high school families for a nine day Europe trip (at least $3,550 per student) but went out of business taking the money with them.
Some families clawed money back via credit-card disputes, but $181,800 was still reportedly owed to 43 people by late summer. Authorities issued a warrant, he was arrested in California, extradited, and when he arrived at Daytona Beach airport in Florida under escort, students and parents confronted him and shouted “scumbag.” Investigators say he confessed, though he previously claimed he’d been wiped out by an investment fraud and refunded what he could.
Here’s another travel agency that took customer money and didn’t actually book travel. A lot of the economy runs on trust. You pay someone to act as an intermediary and just trust they’re going to do what they promised. But that isn’t always true!
I had an insurance broker who charged for insurance, but didn’t actually pay for the insurance. He’d send out a binder, and then an actual policy, and you didn’t know anything was amiss until receiving a cancellation for nonpayment notice in the mail. “Whoops, accounting screwup, sorry we’ll fix it” and he’d send paperwork showing the policy was in force when it apparently wasn’t.
I wound up winning a dispute with my credit card company, but not until after the agent fought the chargeback claiming that since I received coverage during the short binder period (due to his fraud) I shouldn’t be entitled to a refund.
NEVER PAY WITH CASH.
I realize there are legit travel agents and I’ve used one myself for certain vacations (resorts in Caribbean where I knew they had discounts or upgrades I couldn’t get) but my approach is book everything myself. Fronting money to ANYONE for services involves a risk
Oh no… a BBB rating… psh, their conflict resolution process is a joke.
@Derek McGillicuddy — OKAY!
At one time I used to book with travel agents and got reasonably good deals. Since booking online on the airline company website has became easy to do, I usually book that way.
I’m a travel agent. Honestly, the two biggest reasons to use a TA are the knowledge most advisors have to make sure you’re getting the trip that fits your needs and budget, and because we can get you benefits on a cruise that you can’t get buying direct (on-board credits, drink packages, tips included, etc.
You can protect yourself by checking to see if they are licensed, but not all states require licensing. Only work with an agent who carries Errors and Ommissions insurance… ask for a copy of their binder. You can also check with their host agency to make sure they are in good standing.
Most TAs are honest and working to get you a good deal. Like any business, there are also some crooks.
I just never got these types of crims. I get a cat burglar. I even get the bank robber or mugger. The hope is to get away with it. I don’t admire them (except in movies), want them caught, and wouldn’t do it myself (morality combined with a fear of prison). But, the Bernie Madoffs and the TAs here. You know that it will eventually hit the fan, and your “fingerprints” are everywhere. What was their exit strategy. Shucks, BM lived 13 years after being caught. Did he imagine he could go undetected that long? I would never have used him. I can manage my portfolio better than nearly any adviser (net of their crazy high fees for AUM). And, I’m too small for the “sweet deals” open to the very wealthy.
@This comes to mind — Everyone has their number. For some, maybe it’s $10 million, for others, $1 billion, etc. And for some real freaks, it ain’t even about the money; it’s for the love of the game. Some real Joker-shit. So what’s your number, bud?
@ 1990 Careful dude…with your last comment your fake persona is fading.
I’ve dealt with many TAs when booking cruises online for over 25 years. A couple of the surest ways of knowing that the TA actually booked my cruise is 1) Getting notice that my credit card charge is from the actual cruise line (and not from the TA), and 2) Immediately getting a Booking/Reservation/Confirmation Number from the TA of the cruise booking, and then immediately going to the cruise lines’ website and to confirm that the Booking Number (with my name) exists on their system. If neither of these items checkout, then my Spidey Sense tells me that something is amiss and that I need to do more investigating. Or cancel the entire booking with the TA.
Similar checks can be made for hotel and airline reservations.