Travel agent pocketed $415,000 from canceled school trip, California officials say

A San Diego-based travel agent refused to refund parents $415,000 paid toward a school trip canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, California prosecutors said.

She spent the money, intended for an 8th-grade trip to the East Coast, on credit card purchases, rent, and artwork instead of reservations, officials said.

“More than 150 California families set aside their hard-earned money to give their children the educational opportunity of a lifetime,” state Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a Monday, Dec. 5, news release. “Instead, the trip was canceled, and their money disappeared.”

The agent faces charges including 27 counts of grand theft, the release said.

In 2019, the agent solicited money from families at nine schools in Los Angeles and Orange counties for a visit to Washington, D.C., and the East Coast, prosecutors said.

But the trip, scheduled for 2020, was canceled amid COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions. The agent could not refund the money paid by parents because it was already gone.

“Cheating parents who work hard to give their children educational experiences that will broaden their horizons is a disgrace,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in the release.

The state Attorney General’s Office oversees registered travel agents in California.

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