A Long Island travel agent has been arrested and is accused of fraud after allegedly taking more than $50,000 in payments and never booking her clients’ vacations.
Tavia Thomas, 47, of Hempstead, posed as a travel agency owner to scam customers, police said.
She allegedly operated as the sole agent at Destiny Travel in East Meadow and defrauded multiple victims.
According to the company’s website, Thomas was the CEO and Destination Travel Specialist.
Nine victims who paid $35,753.98 for a Royal Caribbean cruise departing out of Bayonne, N.J., in July 2024 arrived at the port to discover their tickets were fraudulent and the cruise they had booked did not exist.
Later that month, Thomas allegedly took $7,660 from a number of victims trying to go to a destination wedding at an ALG Vacations resort, but the trips were not booked.
In September 2024, police say Thomas took $10,034.16 to book a large family trip to the Dominican Republic for a 75th birthday party, but, again, the accommodations were not formally made.
None of the victims ever received a refund.
Thomas was arraigned in court on Tuesday and charged with three counts of grand larceny, three counts of scheme to defraud and two counts of grand larceny.
Nassau County police are asking anyone who may be a victim to come forward.
LI travel agent accused of not booking trips, pocketing $50K
