Ex-O.C. Travel Agent Indicted in Fraud Cases

A former Orange County travel agent was indicted Friday on charges that he defrauded American Express out of about $39,000 in 1986 and soon afterward defrauded the airline industry of more than $1 million.

Mohammad Adil Masood, 46, a Pakistani citizen residing legally in the United States, is accused of committing eight counts of mail and credit card fraud while operating his travel agency, Pega Seas Inc. in Anaheim, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Jean Gilliland .

Masood is accused of concocting bogus credit charges to transfer $39,000 to his merchant account. He allegedly posed as a tour guide booking travel groups, but the travelers--and their credit card numbers--didn’t exist, said Los Angeles Police Department Detective Bob Hill.

When American Express officials caught on to his scheme after a few weeks and put an end to it, Masood disappeared, Hill said.

He resurfaced in late 1986 in San Bernardino where he allegedly defrauded major airlines and the Airline Reporting Corp., which oversees ticket sales, of more than $1 million, Hill said. Masood allegedly sold discount tickets to customers of his Sun Tours ‘N Travel but never passed along the fares to the airlines, Hill said.

Masood, who is a now a fugitive, faces of 12 counts of mail, wire and credit card fraud for his alleged activities in San Bernardino.

His indictment comes after several years of investigation. Masood is the first of several people expected to be named as part of a travel industry fraud ring, Hill said.

“They’re good. They know the travel industry,” Hill said of the ring members. “It was very well organized.”

If convicted, Masood could face 110 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and restitution, Gilliland said.

In addition to the Los Angeles Police Department, the Secret Service and the San Bernardino police investigated the case.