A woman was arrested and charged with 47 felonies for allegedly scamming would-be travelers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for trips that never materialized.
The woman, Wendy Wong, was based in Hawaii and dealt mostly with clients from California traveling to the islands.
Wong was described by Hawaii News Now as a former travel agent who currently does not have a travel agent’s license to conduct business.
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Wong worked as a virtual travel agent for her company, the House of Aloha Hawaii. She is accused of booking fake flights and itineraries for clients and refusing to pay them back – monies that add up to several hundred thousand dollars.
In fact, one client alone paid her more than $100,000 to book flights, hotel rooms and tickets to events in Hawaii for the man and 80 of his friends and family.
The client said the flight, rooms and events were all canceled at the last minute.
Wong pleaded not guilty in Santa Clara, Calif. this week.
This is another example of why it’s important to work with a trusted travel advisor.
