1. NEWSRELEASE
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
BETH PHILLIPS
Contact DonLedford,PublicAffairs●(816) 426-4220 ● 400 East NinthStreet,Room5510 ● KansasCity,
MO 64106
www.usdoj.gov../index.html
JULY 9, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLACK MARKET TRAVEL AGENTS
38 DEFENDANTS INDICTED IN MULTI-MILLIONDOLLAR FRAUD
LOCAL INVESTIGATIONEXPOSES NATIONWIDE NETWORK
THAT USED STOLEN IDENTITIES, CREDIT CARDS
TO PURCHASEAIRLINE TICKETS

2. KANSASCITY, Mo. – BethPhillips,UnitedStatesAttorneyforthe WesternDistrictof Missouri,
announcedtodaythat38 defendantsfromacrossthe UnitedStateshave beenchargedina seriesof
indictmentsthatallegeanextensivenetworkof blackmarkettravel agentswhousedthe stolen
identitiesof thousandsof victimsaspartof a multi-milliondollarfraudscheme topurchase airline
ticketsfortheircustomers.
“What beganas a local law enforcementinvestigationultimatelyexposedanextensive
nationwide blackmarketforairlinetickets,”Phillipssaid.
“Six federal indictmentsallege that38 defendantsusedstolencreditanddebitcardinformation
fromthousandsof identitytheftvictimstopurchase tickets,whichtheysoldtotheircustomersata
steepdiscount,”Phillipsadded.“These separate criminal conspiraciesresultedinanestimatedtotal loss
of more than$20 milliontonumerousdomesticairline companies,financial institutions,other
merchantsand cardholders.”
Conspiratorsusedseveralstrategiestoobtainthe creditanddebitcardinformationof identity
theftvictims,accordingtothe federal indictments.Insome cases,conspiratorsallegedlypurchased
stoleninformationfromunindictedco-conspiratorsinBangladesh,Vietnam andelsewhere.Some of the
defendantsallegedlystole customerinformationathotels,abankanda customercall centerwhere the
defendantswereemployed.
Thisstolenidentityinformationwasallegedlyusedbyotherconspirators –identifiedasblack
markettravel agents – to purchase airline ticketsatnocost to themselves.Theyusedcomputersandcell
phonestomake online purchasesthroughthe Websitesof variousairlines,the indictmentssay,utilizing
not onlyprivate InternetconnectionsbutalsopublicInternetconnectionsatairports,hotels,libraries
and otherbusinesses.Theyoftenpurchasedreservationsclose tothe time of departure,inorderto
increase the likelihoodthattheirfraudulentpurchaseswouldnotbe detected.Asaresult,a passenger
couldoftencomplete hisorhertripbefore the creditor debitcardwas detectedasbeingcompromised.
Accordingto the indictments,blackmarkettravel agentsprofitedfromthe scheme bypurchasing
stolencreditanddebitcardinformationata nominal cost,thenusingthe stoleninformationto
purchase the airline ticketsatnocost to themselves,thensellingthe tickettotheircustomers.Manyof
theircustomers,whousuallypaid$75 to $250 perticket,knew thatthe ticketswere notlegitimately
purchased.Some of the customershave beenchargedinthe indictments.

3. Some conspiratorsactedas passengerbrokersorreferral sourcestocarry outthe scheme by
referringcustomerstothe blackmarkettravel agents.
Accordingto the indictments,the investigationbeganwhenco-defendants SabrinaBowers,29,
of KansasCity,Mo.,and Deidre Turner, 27, of Peculiar,Mo.,stole a Dell laptopcomputerfroma
residence inOverlandPark,Kan.,onNov.21, 2005, inorder to use itin the fraudscheme.Inrelated
incidents,OverlandParkandShawnee,Kan.,police officersrecoverednumerouspiecesof mail and
creditcard numbersthat didnotbelongtothemin the possessionof both BowersandTurner,
accordingto records onfile withthe DistrictCourtof JohnsonCounty,Kan.One of those creditcard
numbershadallegedlybeenusedtopurchase several airline tickets.
Bowers andTurner allegedlyobtainedstolencreditanddebitcardinformationfromhotelsin
OverlandParkandthe Atlanta,Ga.,metroarea where the identitytheftvictimshadstayedasguests.
Bowers and Turner workedwithco-defendantDemetriaHarrison,40, whoallegedlyactedasa black
markettravel agentwhile livinginKansasCity,Mo.,andlaterin the Atlanta,Ga.,area. Bowers,Turner
and Harrison, alongwith Harrison’s son,are chargedtogetherinone of the six indictments.
Investigatorstrackedthe blackmarketactivitiesof these defendantsfromKansasCitytoAtlanta.
As the investigationcontinued,lawenforcementofficersdevelopedleadstosimilarconspiracies
operatingthroughoutthe UnitedStates.
“Thiscase highlightsthe importance of the strongworkingrelationshipsamongfederal,state and
local lawenforcement,”saidUS.Postal InspectionService DeputyChief InspectorGregoryCampbell,Jr.
“The U.S. Postal InspectionService iscommittedtoworkingwithourpartnerstoensure the continued
trust people place inthe mail andprotectingthe publicfromfinancial victimizationbyenforcingthe laws
that defendthe nation'smail systemfromillegal use.”
The federal indictmentsspecificallyrefertoidentitytheftvictimsinKansasCity,Mo.,Lee’s
Summit,Mo.,Gladstone,Mo.,Raytown,Mo.,Springfield,Mo.,Branson,Mo.,Columbia,Mo.,Jefferson
City,Mo., Brookline,Mo.,andBaldwinCity,Kan.,aswell asvictimsinWashington,D.C., Saskatchewan,
Canada,and in26 otherstates,includingTexas,Tennessee,Georgia,New Jersey,Illinois,NewYork,
Pennsylvania,Oklahoma,Kentucky,Connecticut,Virginia,WestVirginia,Nevada,Michigan,Washington,

4. Ohio,Arizona,Florida,Utah,Nebraska, Colorado,NorthCarolina,SouthCarolina,Massachusetts,
AlabamaandIndiana.
Accordingto the indictments,ticketswerepurchasedforflightsintooroutof KansasCity
International Airport,Springfield-BransonNational Airportandotherairportsacrossthe country,
primarilyonDeltaAirLines,US AirwaysandUnitedAirlines,aswell asAmericanAirlines,Northwest
Airlines,SouthwestAirlines,ContinentalAirlines,AirTranAirways,VirginAmericaAirlines,SpiritAirlines,
AlaskaAirlines andFrontierAirlines.
“The assistance of the airlineswasinvaluable tothe federal investigation,”Phillipssaid.“Airlines
providedsignificantinformationanddevotedsubstantial resourcesduringthe course of thislengthy
investigation.I appreciate theircooperationandapplaudtheircontributiontothissuccessful
conclusion.”
A seriesof six indictmentshave beenreturnedunderseal byafederal grandjuryinKansasCity,
Mo., overthe past year.Four of the six indictments were returnedunderseal onJuly1, 2010. All of the
indictmentshave beenunsealedandmade publicuponthe arrestsandinitial courtappearancesof the
defendants.
Phillipscautionedthatthe chargescontainedinthese indictmentsare simplyaccusations,andnot
evidence of guilt.Evidencesupportingthe chargesmustbe presentedtoafederal trial jury,whose duty
isto determine guiltorinnocence.
These casesare beingprosecutedbyAssistantU.S.AttorneysJohnE.Cowlesand MattHiller.They
were investigatedbythe U.S.Postal InspectionService,the OverlandPark,Kan.,Police Department,and
the KansasCitySecretService TaskForce,and withthe assistance of the Drug Enforcement
Administration.
****************
Thisnewsrelease,aswell asadditionalinformationaboutthe office of the UnitedStatesAttorneyfor
the WesternDistrictof Missouri,isavailable on-line at
http://www.justice.gov../index.html