A Louisiana woman has been sentenced to nine years in prison for her role in selling bogus vacation packages to the Essence Festival in New Orleans.
Nakesia Washington, of Harvey, La., received a 15-year sentence with six years suspended after she admitted scamming 98 tourists – all from out of state – over $80,000.
MORE Impacting Travel
Operating through her agency, OBL Travel, Washington sold vacation packages that included festival tickets, VIP passes and hotel rooms. Airfare apparently was not included, so when the tourists arrived in New Orleans they found no tickets, no passes, no lodging – and no Nakesia Washington.
WVUE-TV reported that Washington pleaded guilty Wednesday, July 3. State District Judge Ellen Shrier Kovach sentenced her and ordered her to pay restitution. A restitution hearing is scheduled July 11.
The Essence Fest is one of the premier music festivals in the country. Started in 1995 as a one-time event to honor the 25th anniversary of Essence Magazine, the festival has been a staple of African-American culture and music ever since.
Earlier this year, a Florida woman and her friends were scammed by a fake travel agency.
It’s just another reminder to make sure you find a trusted travel agent and take the necessary steps to make sure you avoid being scammed.
US flight schedules are expected to return to normal by the end of Sunday, two…
United Airlines partnered with Spotify a little over a year ago. Now, the airline is…
A federal judge in New York denied Delta Air Lines’ request to dismiss a lawsuit…
JetBlue has raised its baggage fees for the third time in less than a year,…
Juan Albarran Marquez, co-founder of Ocean & River Sailings and host of The Jet Set…
A Southwest Airlines flight attendant is suing the airline for disability discrimination, alleging that it…