Man accused of travel scheme
A man posing as a travel agent has been arrested on suspicion of selling more than $160,000 worth of bogus trips to Cuba, authorities said Thursday.
Ralph Adam Rendon, 31, faces 78 felony charges, including grand theft and embezzlement, in connection with advertising excursions for Jewish and Greek Orthodox people to meet members of their faith in Cuba, the state attorney general’s office said.
Nearly three dozen senior citizens bought the tour packages in 2006
The victims paid $1,000 to Rendon’s business, the USA/AAE Scholarship Foundation. Then he allegedly demanded an additional $2,580, but would later tell customers that the U.S. Treasury Department had blocked religious travel to Cuba and canceled the trips. The department does allow humanitarian and religious travel to the country, but told Rendon to stop selling travel packages to the island nation.
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