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A Chicago travel agent is accused of committing fraud that earned him 42 million Delta SkyBonus points worth more than $ 1.75 million.
A federal grand jury indicted Gennady Podolsky, a dual citizen of Ukraine and the United States, this week for 12 counts of wire fraud.
US Attorney Byung J. "BJay" Pak said that Podolsky had used his duties as Managing Partner and Senior Travel Agent at Vega Travel Services, Inc. to design and execute the Delta Fraud Project. Air Lines, an Atlanta-based company.
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Delta's SkyBonus program is the business-centric version of its loyalty program. Pak said Podolsky had arranged for the registration of a SkyBonus account on behalf of a fertility treatment center owned by a parent of Vega Travel's president.
When Podolsky booked Delta flights for his non-Fertility Clinic clients, he used the clinic's SkyBonus account, fraudulently accumulating millions of points, according to Pak.
He then used the points for free air travel and other benefits, said the American lawyer.
"Podolsky has used his knowledge of the travel industry to take advantage of his travel agency clients," Pak said. "Through his access, he would have taken advantage of Delta Air Lines' corporate loyalty program, illegally harvesting millions of SkyBonus points worth over $ 1.75 million."
The FBI investigated the case. Chris Hacker, FBI Special Agent Atlanta, said the government would sue anyone involved in similar scams.
"The fraudulent accumulation of frequent flyer miles in the travel industry may seem like a victimless crime, but big business risks losing big profits," said Hacker.
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