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Three former airline employees have been charged by federal officials for allegedly running a scam that cost their employer $283,000 between December 2017 and August 2018. Taylor Thompson, 27, Tiana Fairfax, 29, and Theodore Robinson, 29, were indicted on seven counts of wire fraud.
Officials did not specify what airline they worked for, only confirming it was a major U.S. airline headquartered in Florida.
Prosecutors allege that the three convinced passengers to book cheap flights that they did not intend to use. They then had them switch to the more expensive flight they originally wanted. Instead of charging them the difference between the two flights, along with a change fee, they charged the customers a "commission," which they pocketed for themselves.
"As alleged, these defendants used access and privileges granted by virtue of their employment to cheat the airline reservation system and skim money off the top for themselves," United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said in a statement. "We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute fraud schemes wherever they occur."