Federals Accuse Wire Fraud Travel Agent with Delta Air Lines

According to the US Attorney's Office, Gennady Podolsky, a Chicago-based travel agent for customers of Russian and Oriental descent, allegedly used Delta's SkyBonus loyalty program for business fraudulently.

"The fraudulent accumulation of frequent flyer miles in the travel industry may seem like a victimless crime, but big business may lose a significant profit," said Chris Hacker, FBI Atlanta Special Agent.

Podolsky's lawyer, Seth Kirschenbaum, issued a statement in which he described Podolsky as a "respected and highly qualified travel advisor who served a loyal clientele for many years," and said that Podolsky's conduct as part of the SkyBonus program was not fraudulent.

The SkyBonus program allows small and medium-sized businesses to sign up for points earned on employee-only travel, which can also earn miles with the SkyMiles program.

Podolsky was the main travel agent of Vega International Travel Services in Chicago.

Byung J. "BJay" Pak, US District Attorney North Georgia, states that a SkyBonus account was registered in the name of a fertility treatment center owned by a member of the President's family from Vega.

The SkyBonus account number of the Fertility Center was used when Vega booked tickets for her clients on Delta, even though customers are not employees of this company, according to the US Attorney's Office. Under the program, traveling passengers must be employees of the company so that the registered company can earn SkyBonus points.

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"Podolsky has used his knowledge of the travel industry to take advantage of his clients' travel agencies," Pak said in a written statement.

According to the indictment, more than 42 million SkyBonus points were accumulated and fraudulently exchanged for free air travel and other benefits. The US prosecutor's office says Podolsky took advantage of the program, "illegally harvesting millions of SkyBonus points worth more than $ 1.75 million."

The SkyBonus account used by Podolsky attracted the attention of a Delta risk management investigator for an audit in 2015.

The wire fraud charges result from inter-state wire communications with Delta's computer servers for the exchange of flight reward certificates.

Kirschenbaum's statement said that "the evidence at trial will show that Delta did indeed bring in millions of dollars in profits from his relationship with Mr. Podolsky," and the suggestion that he was disadvantaging his clients is unfounded.

Podolsky, 43, now lives in Kiev, Ukraine. He was prosecuted for 12 counts of wire fraud and was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 11.

Delta issued a statement stating: "We are pleased to see any type of fraud charged and continue to work with the FBI and the US Attorney General's Office to ensure that this case is continued in as much as possible ".