JetBlue employee scammed the airline out of $785k
Former JetBlue gate agent Tiffany Jenkins, 31, pleaded guilty in a Boston federal court Friday to three counts of wire fraud after upgrading the plane tickets of friends, family and acquaintances over the course of roughly 15 months. The scam, according to reporting by the Boston Globe, cost JetBlue about $785,000.
From roughly July 2016 through September 2017, Jenkins accessed the JetBlue reservation database to convert low-cost plane tickets into more expensive ones for more than 100 people. One example cited by Travel + Leisure involved reservations for a quick, inexpensive flight from Las Vegas to Long Beach, Calif., being switched to a more expensive long-haul trip somewhere else.
“As a gate agent, Jenkins had access to the airline’s computer reservation database and had the ability to use a special code, referred to as an involuntary exchange or ‘INVOL,’ to change flights for customers at no additional cost,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said in a statement. “This code enables agents to change flights for customers who miss their flights or experience a death in the family.”
JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment