Hermosa Beach police said they arrested a man posing as an airline employee who sold fake flight credits to unsuspecting holiday travelers.
Jian Huang, 39, of San Ramon, Calif., was arrested Nov. 29 after he attempted to sell undercover detectives bogus credits at a coffee shop, said HB Det. Mick Gaglia in a press release.
Huang told police he met his victims at coffee shops with wireless internet access in order to purchase the tickets online with stolen credit card information.
A Hermosa Beach resident contacted police Nov. 17 and said that he had met Huang through a social media website where Huang claimed to be selling unused credits. Police said the online posting read: “Unrestricted airline credits for half off.”
The Hermosa Beach resident met with Huang and paid him $900, police said. Only later did the resident learn that the reservations were not really paid for.
Huang admitted to police that he used stolen credit card information obtained through his job working at a property management company. After he met with prospective victims, Huang booked the airline tickets on his laptop computer and gave the victim a confirmation number before receiving a cash payment, police said.
The fraudulent charges would then be reported by the owner of the stolen credit card when he or she cancelled the payment to the airline, police said. Although the victims kept the confirmation number, they did not know that their flight was not paid for until they arrived at the airport.
Huang, who was released from custody on his own recognizance, was changed with theft and using a stolen credit card, Gaglia said.
Huang told police he scammed several people with this method, police said.
Huang also refers to himself as “David Huang” or “Jim Lee,” police said. If anyone has been a victim of Huang, please contact Detective Michael Frilot at (310)318-0332 or mfrilot@hermosapolice.org
