Man convicted of fraud for posing as flight attendant to fly for free

CNN

3 days ago

(CNN) – A man accused of falsely posing as a flight attendant to reap dozens of free flights has been convicted of wire fraud and fraudulently entering the secure area of an airport.
Tiron Alexander, 35, was found guilty by a federal jury after taking 34 free flights that he obtained by pretending to be a flight attendant or a pilot, the U.S. District Attorney in Southern Florida said in a news release Tuesday. He was also convicted of entering the secure area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport under false pretenses, authorities said.
The man was employed by an unidentified airline based in Dallas beginning in 2015, court documents said, but not as a pilot or a flight attendant. The scheme to obtain free tickets, for a Florida-based airline, began in 2018 and continued until 2024, according to court documents.
Alexander was indicted on these charges in Florida. He was arrested in California in February.
The tickets Alexander secured are reserved for flight attendants and pilots. Free flights are among the top perks of working as a pilot or flight attendant. The benefit is based on seniority and tenure. Using the airlines' online ticketing systems, Alexander claimed to have worked intermittently for seven different carriers, according to the prosecutors' news release.
He was convicted of four counts of wire fraud and one count of falsely entering the airport's secure area.
Alexander was represented by attorneys in the public defender's office in Miami. CNN has reached out to them for comment.
Authorities allege Alexander had booked more than 100 flights by falsely posing as a flight attendant.
Alexander will be sentenced in August. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud counts and up to 10 years for entering the airport's secure area, according to the indictment.