A MAN pretended to be a flight attendant for years, scamming 120 free flights from four airlines before he was eventually caught.
Tiron Alexander, aged 35, was found guilty on June 5 of unlawfully entering a restricted airport area and committing wire fraud, as stated by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
According to prosecutors, Alexander reserved complimentary flights intended solely for pilots and flight attendants through an airline’s website from 2018 to 2024.
The application process required users to give their employer, date of hire, and badge number.
He managed to take 34 flights with the airline by masquerading as a flight attendant, utilizing fake employment details for seven airlines, and providing 30 distinct badge numbers, the prosecutors noted.
However, he still had to provide his name and date of birth to get a boarding pass.
“That information is how he was ultimately caught, with his fraudulently secured flights piling up in Spirit’s log books until it was large enough for the airline to take notice,” read court documents.
“The evidence at trial also showed that Alexander posed as a flight attendant on three other airline carriers,” said the prosecution.
“Ultimately, Alexander booked more than 120 free flights by falsely claiming to be a flight attendant.”
Alexander used the flights to book trips to Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and other destinations.
The indictment claimed that Alexander had worked for an airline in Dallas since November 2015, but was neither a pilot nor a flight attendant.
At the time of his arrest, Alexander worked for American Airlines but had been suspended without pay for about a year.
He applied to the Alaska Airlines pilot academy in 2022 and looked for flight attendant jobs at Alaska and Delta in 2024.
The Transportation Security Administration, which investigated the case, said in was happy with the verdict.
“While Alexander was able to board flights by fraudulently obtaining a boarding pass, he underwent all applicable TSA security procedures, including ID verification and physical screening, and did not pose a threat to other airline passengers,” read the statement.
“TSA remains dedicated to the security of the flying public and will continue to support the prosecution of those who break air travel laws.”
The maximum sentence for wire fraud is 20 years in prison, according to the indictment.
The sentence for entering the secure areas of an airport under false pretenses is 10 years.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Alexander’s sentencing is scheduled for August 25.
This isn’t the first time a flier tried to score free flights over an airline, as Frank Abagnale Jr. famously posed as a pilot to get free flights when he was a teenager.
The scheme was portrayed in the film Catch Me if You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Abagnale.
Meanwhile, a man in India tried to gain pilot perks with a fake ID before being arrested in 2019.
A Houston man pleaded guilty to making fake identity cards to get free flights on Spirit in 2021.
