Prosecutors charge 38 people in $20M black market travel scam that used stolen credit cards

Feds charge 38 in black market travel scheme

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Federal prosecutors say 38 people are charged in connection to a nationwide scheme that used thousands of stolen credit card numbers to buy airline tickets that were later sold at deep discounts.

The U.S. attorney is western Missouri says six indictments were unsealed Friday. They detail an underground network of so-called black market travel agents, and cite operations from Los Angeles to Florida to New York.

U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips says the operations netted more than $20 million and involved thousands of victims. The network began unraveling after two Missouri women were charged with stealing a computer from a Kansas home in 2005.

Phillips says most of the people charged have been arrested and face charges such as conspiracy and identity theft.