Southwest Airlines agent charged with stealing $79K in flight vouchers
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ST. LOUIS, Mo. - A former Southwest Airlines customer service agent has been charged with theft, accused of printing nearly $80,000 worth of travel vouchers for personal use and profit.
Brooklyn Jones, who worked at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, reportedly printed flight vouchers using previous passengers' names and redeemed them for himself, USA Today reports.
Jones reportedly confessed after an internal investigation and returned 119 travel vouchers to the Southwest investigator. Those vouchers were worth $36,300, FOX 2 reports.
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The vouchers were printed between Aug. 1, 2023 and Sept. 23, 2023, court records show.
Southwest plane is seen at Miami International Airport in Miami, United States on May 9, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Despite the confession, Jones pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony theft. His attorney told USA Today that Jones’ arrest "appears to rely heavily on third-party statements."
"We look forward to the discovery process and reserve the right to comment in the future upon receipt and review of the specific discovery in this matter," he said.
Southwest declined to comment on the investigation and subsequent arrest. A Southwest spokesperson told FOX TV Stations "we’ll defer to law enforcement."
It’s not the first time a Southwest customer service agent has been accused of this crime. In June of last year, former Southwest Airlines employee DaJuan Martin was charged with fraud for allegedly making and selling travel vouchers worth nearly $1.9 million.
Federal prosecutors said Martin was working at Chicago’s Midway Airport when he filled out the vouchers with phony names, then sold them to others including a co-defendant, Ned Brooks, at less than face value.