Travel agents charged with million-dollar fraud
A US couple has been charged with conning 1,000 customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by promising free cruises and airfare in return for up-front fees.
Daryl Turner, 41, and his wife, Robyn Bernstein, 43, are accused of using $700,000 of the money they pocketed to buy a mansion in Marlton, New Jersey.
Authorities have seized the property along with three cars – a Bentley, a Ferrari, and a Range Rover.
Described by New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa as "like a pair of old school con-artists", over the past four years the couple opened eight travel companies, closing each and moving on to a new one as customers began to complain to authorities.
Prosecutors said the couple charged between $2,200 and $6,500 for the holiday packages plus $300 in fees, promising large discounts, and free cruises and airfares for two.
In an indictment announced last week, the two were charged with conspiracy, money laundering, theft by deception, and failing to file state income tax returns.
Turner actually conned authorities as well. When the State Division of Consumer Affairs filed its first complaint against him in 2009, he agreed to pay more than $3 million and to stay out of the travel business for five years, but he never paid.
The charges against him now carry prison sentences of 10 to 20 years and penalties up to $1 million.
by Cheryl Rosen, Editor TravelMole US
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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