A former Continental Airlines ticket agent at Newark Airport has plead guilty to federal wire fraud charges for a failed flight voucher scam.
(Photo by Ron Peel)
Victoria Scardigno, 33, of Weekhawken, NJ, stole flight vouchers from her employer which would normally be distributed to passengers of canceled flights. Telling buyers that they could use the vouchers for round-trip tickets anywhere Continental flies, Scardigno sold the vouchers for $500-$600 each, from which she pocketed about $1 million.
The unvalidated vouchers, however, were worthless, and disgruntled voucher buyers soon began complaining to Scardigno when Continental would not redeem them. To prevent being caught, Scardigno spent about $600,000 of her ill-gotten gains to buy actual tickets for her “customers.” She reportedly spent the rest of the money on lavish spending sprees and to pay off her credit card bills.
Scardigno faces up to five years in prison.
