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Travel Agent Stole $45K from Customers and Left Them Stranded, DA Says

By Lisha Arino | January 6, 2016 5:54pm
 Vivian Cheng, a Chinatown travel agent, pleaded guilty to stealing $45,000 from her customers, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Vivian Cheng, a Chinatown travel agent, pleaded guilty to stealing $45,000 from her customers, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
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CHINATOWN — A Chinatown travel agent has pleaded guilty to stealing $45,000 from her customers and using their credit cards to buy more than $60,000 worth of plane tickets, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.

Vivian Cheng, 47, of Queens used her business, Bestway Travel on Pell Street, to steal cash and make unauthorized credit card purchases between February 2014 and May 2015, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

“Some travelers were left stranded overseas, having to pay for new tickets out‎ of pocket, or prevented from taking their trips entirely,” said District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. in a statement.

In some cases, Cheng purchased one-way tickets for travelers who paid for a round trip, leaving many of her customers stranded in Asia and forced to pay additional fees to return home, prosecutors said.

Other clients found out they did not have tickets once they arrived at the airport, even though they had paid Cheng for the trip and had received receipts and itineraries from her, according to the district attorney’s office.

Cheng — who was charged with grand larceny and scheming to defraud in August, according to reports — also made unauthorized credit card purchases, using customers’ cards to buy tickets for other travelers that had already paid for airfare, often in cash, prosecutors said.

Cheng's attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said she “accepted responsibility for her actions which led to her arrest,” adding that she panicked when business began to go south.

“There never any desire to…steal money,” he said, explaining that she was using the stolen funds to keep the business afloat. “She was hoping to pay everybody back and she was planning to pay everybody back.”

As part of a plea deal, Cheng will avoid jail if she pays $500,000 in six months, which will be used to pay back the victims, Lichtman said.

Cheng is due back in court on April 20, according to the District Attorney’s Office.