Local News in Brief : Convicted Man Called a ‘Key Figure’ in Scam

An Encino man convicted by a San Francisco federal jury of 27 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy and selling stolen airline tickets was called a “key figure” in an international organized crime ring costing the airline industry millions of dollars, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday.

Kuldip Singh Mundi, 45, who was convicted Wednesday, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each wire fraud count, five years for conspiracy and 10 years for selling stolen property, will be sentenced July 31 in U.S. District Court. He also faces fines of up to $250,000.

According to federal authorities, Mundi, a Canadian citizen, was a member of an international ring that bought, sold and exchanged Nigerian airline tickets on the black market. Officials said the fluctuating value of the Nigerian dollar, the naira, allowed Mundi and his co-conspirators to pocket millions of dollars.

Mundi himself peddled an estimated $600,000 to $1 million worth of black-market tickets, authorities said. The airlines never received any money from the transactions, officials said.

Scam operators would purchase round-trip tickets from Nigeria to destinations at lower Nigerian prices, and sell the tickets or exchange them for higher prices overseas, officials said.

The original ticket might cost $500, but the refund might be $700, U.S. Atty. Robert Dondero said, adding that the participating travel agencies would make another 10% profit by charging airlines for customer services.

Mundi was arrested along with three other men last December during an FBI “sting” at a travel agency in Northern California.

Mundi, who is free on $500,000 bond, is just “one of the key players in one of the most sophisticated organized crime rings around,” Dondero said.