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Former Southwest Employee Charged with Selling Fake Vouchers

A former Chicago-based Southwest worker is accused of stealing nearly $2 million in airfare from the carrier in the form of customer vouchers.
A Southwest Airlines employee formerly based at Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) is no longer feeling the “LUV” from his company, after he stands accused of stealing just under $2 million in airfare.

 

On Monday, June 5, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice indited 36-year-old Dajuan Martin on 12 counts of wire fraud and 46-year-old Ned Brooks on four counts of wire fraud for their part in the scheme.

 

Attorneys Allege Pair Created and Sold Fraudulent Travel Vouchers

According to United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Illinois, Martin was formerly employed by Southwest at the airport when the scheme allegedly began. Marin is accused of creating “Southwest Luv Vouchers” under fake names, which are usually given to travelers who have a bad experience aboard the carrier.

 

In turn, Martin would allegedly sell the vouchers to Brooks and others at “below market value” for cash. It is unclear how many vouchers Martin and Brooks sold, but the government attorneys claim the loss for Southwest is over $1.87 million.

 

If convicted, both Martin and Brooks face up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of wire fraud. An indictment is not evidence of guilt, and both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. It is unknown if either of the accused have entered a plea in the case.

3 Comments
M
Mackan2017 July 5, 2023

We're all surprised, right??

G
GrayAnderson June 11, 2023

So...was this just copied verbatim from a DOJ press release?