Southwest Airlines Travel Voucher Scheme Pays Off, And Then Doesn’t
Nearly $1.9 million dollars’ worth of fraudulent Southwest Airlines travel vouchers were sold by a former employee without the company’s knowledge. This scheme occurred between 2018 and 2022.
The Southwest Airlines Travel Voucher Scheme
DaJuan Martin is the Southwest Airlines customer service agent who has perpetrated this scheme. He worked at Chicago’s Midway Airport according to an article on NYPost.com written by the Associated Press .
Here’s how the scheme worked. First, Martin would create computer-generated Southwest Airlines travel vouchers. And then, he would add a fake customer name and sell the voucher at below face value. As a result, all that cash is profit since the vouchers cost him nothing.
Martin Was Not Working Alone
His main partner in crime, and now his co-defendant, is Ned Brooks of Chicago. But, there were others involved in this scheme who would text him when they wanted Southwest Airlines travel vouchers.
So, as a customer service agent for Southwest, Martin had the authority to issue travel vouchers to folks who had poor travel experiences on the airline. Most of the vouchers he sold had a face value of between $200-$500 dollars. That’s according to an article on DallasNews.com written by Alexandra Skores.
The Southwest Airlines Travel Voucher Court Case
As a result, federal prosecutors are charging 36-year-old DaJuan Martin with 12 counts of wire fraud. And, they are also charging his co-defendant, the 46-year-old Brooks, with 4 counts of wire fraud per the NYPost.com article.
The Penalties If They Are Convicted
Firstly, each wire fraud charge carries a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years. Secondly, not only are Martin and Brooks facing prison time, but federal prosecutors want the cash that was collected.
The NYPost.com article reports that they want Martin to forfeit nearly $1.9 million bucks. They want Brooks to give back $732,000 dollars. And, they want another $27 grand and a 2021 Land Rover purchased by the accused fraudsters.
In conclusion, I guess crime does pay. And then crime wants its money back.
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Larry Martino is the long-time afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.