MANHATTAN (CN) - A former Continental Airlines sales agent pleaded guilty Tuesday to making $1 million by selling phony airline ticket vouchers. Victoria Scardigno stole hundreds of Continental flight vouchers and sold them for $500 to $600 apiece, claiming they could be redeemed for a round-trip flight to anywhere in the world. In fact, Continental had no such promotion, and the tickets were invalid.
According to the federal indictment, Scardigno sold more than 2,100 of the fake vouchers, netting her about $1 million. She paid for some passengers' flights to keep the scam going.
"Victoria Scardigno's low-rent Ponzi scheme took advantage of unsuspecting air travelers who thought they were buying vouchers for plane tickets when they were really buying worthless pieces of paper," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. "Now the only trip she will be taking is to federal prison."
Scardigno faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Read the Top 8
Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Additional Reads
-
Top 8 today September 19, 2023 -
-
Top 8 today September 13, 2023
-
