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A Southwest Airlines employee has been charged with theft.
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According to a complaint received by BI, the employee told police that he had printed out flight vouchers valued at $79,000.
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He has since pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A Southwest Airlines customer service representative at St. Louis Lambert International Airport has been charged with theft after he printed out $79,000 worth of flight vouchers, according to police.
An internal airline investigation found that Brooklyn Jones “printed the vouchers under the names of previous passengers and redeemed them for himself,” according to a complaint obtained by Business Insider from the St. Louis County District Attorney’s Office.
A Southwest investigator said Jones “provided a written statement admitting to these allegations” and was “willing to give up the vouchers he possessed,” the complaint said.
Jones is said to have led officers to his locker, where he handed the airline investigator 119 flight vouchers with a total value of $36,300, it said.
Jones was subsequently arrested. In later interviews, he told officers that he “received money for the coupons four times” and printed coupons totaling $79,000, the complaint states.
Police believe Jones printed the vouchers between August 1, 2023 and September 28, 2023.
As USA Today reported, Jones has since pleaded not guilty.
Bert Fulk, an attorney for Jones, said in a statement that the allegations were based on a “probable cause statement that appears to rely heavily on third-party testimony,” USA Today reports.
“We look forward to the disclosure process and reserve the right to comment on this matter in the future after receiving and reviewing the specific disclosure,” he added.
In response to a request for comment from BI, Southwest Airlines referred the matter to local law enforcement.
Jones’ attorney did not respond to a request for comment from BI.
In 2023, another Southwest customer service representative was indicted after creating and selling fake travel vouchers worth about $1.9 million, according to federal prosecutors.
DaJuan Martin, who worked for the airline at Chicago’s Midway Airport, “used fictitious customer names to fraudulently create the vouchers without the airline’s knowledge or consent,” according to an indictment filed in federal court in Chicago.
Martin then sold the vouchers, known as “Southwest LUV Vouchers,” at a discounted price for cash, the indictment says.
Jonathan Bedi, Martin’s lawyer, previously told BI: “Mr. Martin is a wonderful family man who has young children and is loved by all who know him.”
“He is looking forward to his day in court,” he added.
USA Today reported that Martin reached a deal with prosecutors in July.
Read the original article on Business Insider
