June 27, 2006
DA Rice: Notorious Travel Agent Stole Thousands, Stranded Hundreds
Hempstead man dodges authority for years while swindling hundreds of vacationers
MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Jerry Andrew Cummings, 40, of Hempstead, has been arrested and charged with two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a Class D Felony, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a Class E Felony, and Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a Class E Felony, for masterminding and executing a plan that defrauded hundreds of travelers out of tens of thousands of dollars.
A person is guilty of grand larceny in the third degree when he steals property and when the value of the property exceeds three thousand dollars (§ 155.35 Penal Law).
A person is guilty of grand larceny in the fourth degree, when he steals property and when: the value of the property exceeds one thousand dollars (§ 155.30 Penal Law).
A person is guilty of a scheme to defraud in the first degree when he engages in a scheme constituting a systematic ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud more than one person or to obtain property from more than one person by false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, and so obtains property with a value in excess of one thousand dollars from one or more such persons (§190.65 Penal Law).
“We believe this defendant is responsible for the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from vacationers, travel agencies, and credit card companies,” said Rice. “His elaborate cons have left people without their vacations and, many times, stranded or fearing for their safety in foreign countries.”
Mr. Cummings is being arrested for the second time in two months as a travel agent who has victimized and stranded hundreds of travelers and travel agencies across the United States and Canada over the past five years.
In May 2006 the defendant was arrested by the Crimes Against Property Squad of the Nassau County Police Department. In that case, Mr. Cummings was charged with defrauding approximately 100 customers of Magic Carpet Travel in Ontario, Canada, from September 2005 through April 2006. 50 customers of Magic Carpet Travel paid for vacations in full before departing for their destinations. Once arriving at their hotels, the customers found that no reservations had been made in their names and they were forced to re-pay up to $5,000 for hotel rooms. In another instance Magic Carpet Travel paid Mr. Cummings $10,000 in credit card payments and $16,749 in cash for their customers, which included 25 students and chaperones to travel to Cancun, Mexico, in March 2006. Mr. Cummings never paid for airfare or hotel rooms for the groups. As a result, the trip was cancelled. After repeated requests for a refund by Magic Carpet Travel, Mr. Cummings returned only $8,801 of the $16,749 in cash payments and failed to refund the balance. Another group of travelers booking through Magic Carpet Travel in March 2006 planned on vacationing in Punta Cana. Upon learning that only three of the thirteen airfares had been booked and no hotel reservations had been made, ten of the travelers canceled their vacation. Those travelers were able to reverse the charge on their credit card, which resulted in a loss to the credit card company.
After Mr. Cummings’ arrest in May 2006 the Nassau County District Attorney’s Investigators found that Mr. Cummings had been arrested and charged for similar crimes in April 2004 and April 2005. With that information an intensive investigation of Mr. Cummings and his businesses began. The incident in April 2004 was settled without a trial and a settlement was negotiated for some travelers. The incident in April 2005 was dismissed because many of the affected travelers could not be located. In May and June 2006 DA Investigators contacted travelers and travel agents from across the United States and Canada. The result was the discovery of a continuous pattern of misrepresentations, fraudulent practices, and larceny by Mr. Cummings.
The defendant was able to continue his scheme to defraud by changing the name of the principal and business names several times. Names for his business that Mr. Cummings used include N.Y. Sunshine Vacations, N.Y Sunshine Vacations, New York Sunshine Vacations, New York Sunshine Vacations.Tour.Com, NY Sunshine Vacations, Sunshine Unlimited, Sunshine Vacation(s) TVL, Sunshine Vacations, Sunshine Vacations, Inc., Sunshine Vacations Travels, Sunshines Vacation Inc., Celebrity Travel, Celebrity Travel Inc., Celebrity Travel Package, and Celebrity Travel Sun. The defendant used the names Andrew Cummings, Jerry Cummings, Jeremy Cummings, and Andrew Gibbs, in addition to names of relatives and others to conceal his ownership and control of the businesses.
This newest complaint alleges that Mr. Cummings defrauded customers of Ohio and Florida travel agencies and American Express, and others between June, 2004 and June, 2006.
In December 2004 Kenley Konnection, an Ohio based travel agency booked a group trip for approximately 100 people to Nassau, Bahamas, for June 2005. The travel agent sent Mr. Cummings $28,586.34 to cover the cost of the trip. Several weeks before the trip, Mr. Kenley became suspicious of the vouchers sent by Mr. Cummings to Kenley Konnection. Upon checking with the airlines and the hotel, Mr. Kenley found that neither had been paid. Mr. Cummings issued checks to refund Mr. Kenley the money, but the checks were returned due to insufficient funds. As a result, Mr. Cummings only returned $8,091.74 of the original $28,586.34.
A second charge in the complaint concerns an April 2006 incident, in which Master Travel and Cruises of West Palm Beach, Florida, booked an all-inclusive vacation in Ocho Rios, Jamaica for their customer, John Habicht, through Sunshine Vacations Inc. Mr. Cummings sent Mr. Habicht a voucher for airfare, transfer and hotel, including confirmation numbers. When Mr. Habicht arrived at the Jamaican airport, there was no transfer service waiting for him. Upon obtaining his own transportation to the hotel, he was told by hotel staff that the hotel had not been booked or not been paid for and that there were no vacancies available. The hotel was able to accommodate Mr. Habicht for one night, which he had to pay for. After speaking with Sunshine Vacations Inc., Mr. Habicht was assured that he would be transferred to a similar all-inclusive resort. Mr. Cummings instructed Mr. Habicht to pay for the hotel upfront and that he would be reimbursed for his original charges upon return.; Mr. Habicht has yet to receive any refund from Mr. Cummings.
The final charge in the complaint relates to American Express, from which Mr. Cummings is accused of stealing $35,000. Mr. Cummings opened corporate accounts under various names, ran up charges, including over $25,000 in charges from Celebrity Travel to Sunshine Travel (both owned by Mr. Cummings) and failed to pay the balance. Additionally, the defendant opened at least one merchant account under a new name, which he emptied before being charged back.
At the time of Mr. Cummings’ arrest, a search warrant, which was signed by the Hon. Judge Gulotta on June 23, 2006, was executed at his business premises at 250 Fulton Street, Hempstead, NY.
The defendant will be arraigned today in First District Court in Hempstead, NY.
ADA Justin Heiferman of the Economic Crimes Bureau will be handling the case for the District Attorney under supervision of Economic Crimes Bureau Chief Diane Peress. Nassau DA Investigators Kathy Roberts and Chuck Franssen assisted with the investigation.
Mr. Cummings is being represented by Steven Gaitman.
District Attorney Rice would like to thank the Crimes Against Property Squad of the Nassau County Police Department, Investigator Al Cavuto of American Express and US Postal Inspection Service for their assistance in the investigation.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
If an individual feels that they have been a victim of Mr. Cummings or any of his agencies, please contact the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office at 516-571-3505.
Name: Jerry Cummings
Age: 40
Address: 170 Kennedy Ave, Hempstead, NY
Charges: Grand Larceny 3° (two counts), Grand Larceny 4°, Scheme to Defraud 1°
|
