Voyager7
07-10-2011, 02:38 PM
Man pleads guilty in airline ticket scheme
A Brooklyn, N.Y., man admitted in federal court Friday that he used stolen identities and illegally purchased airline tickets to fly transvestite prostitutes around the country to sell sex.
Steven James Palmer, 30, was the 30th of 38 defendants to plead guilty in a $20 million travel scheme that exposed an underground black market for heavily discounted airline tickets.
Like others, Palmer admitted that he obtained stolen identities and used their credit and debit cards to purchase airline tickets for customers who paid as little as $50 for tickets sometimes worth thousands of dollars more.
Palmer acknowledged in pleading guilty that the prostitutes occasionally flew into Kansas City and Overland Park.
“Palmer knew that he was flying prostitutes to further their criminal activity,” court records stated.
Palmer admitted that in July 2008 he booked $1,219 worth of tickets on a credit card stolen from the city of Overland Park for two passengers who flew from Los Angeles to New York.
Even Disney World was not spared. Palmer said he used stolen information to purchase tickets to the resort, which he then posted for sale on an online classified site.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/07/08/3003105/man-pleads-guilty-in-airline-ticket.html#ixzz1RhnTIBKp
A Brooklyn, N.Y., man admitted in federal court Friday that he used stolen identities and illegally purchased airline tickets to fly transvestite prostitutes around the country to sell sex.
Steven James Palmer, 30, was the 30th of 38 defendants to plead guilty in a $20 million travel scheme that exposed an underground black market for heavily discounted airline tickets.
Like others, Palmer admitted that he obtained stolen identities and used their credit and debit cards to purchase airline tickets for customers who paid as little as $50 for tickets sometimes worth thousands of dollars more.
Palmer acknowledged in pleading guilty that the prostitutes occasionally flew into Kansas City and Overland Park.
“Palmer knew that he was flying prostitutes to further their criminal activity,” court records stated.
Palmer admitted that in July 2008 he booked $1,219 worth of tickets on a credit card stolen from the city of Overland Park for two passengers who flew from Los Angeles to New York.
Even Disney World was not spared. Palmer said he used stolen information to purchase tickets to the resort, which he then posted for sale on an online classified site.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/07/08/3003105/man-pleads-guilty-in-airline-ticket.html#ixzz1RhnTIBKp