Six men have been charged with stealing millions of airline frequent flier miles, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
A federal grand jury indicted Wojciech Borkowski (43, of Zgierz, Poland), Terran Oliver (51, of Allen, TX), Semaj Lee (55, of Oklahoma City, OK), Derrick Booker (49, of Spencer, OK), Yusuf Siddique (30, of Folsom, CA), and Stanley Benton (42, of Los Angeles, CA) on conspiracy to commit wire fraud in August 2019.
The lead defendant, Mr. Borkowski, was arrested in Poland in May 2020. Following a successful extradition request, he was handed over to FBI custody on Friday morning, and flown from Warsaw to Dallas over the weekend. He made his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver Monday morning.
According to the indictment, Mr. Borkowski allegedly hacked into consumers’ airline miles accounts, then used the compromised accounts to book flights for unsuspecting passengers who’d purchased travel through Mr. Oliver, Mr. Lee, Mr. Booker, Mr. Siddique, and Mr. Benton.
The U.S.-based passengers would send their requested itinerary and personal information, including names and dates of birth, to one of the five men, who would then send that information, along with a money order, to Mr. Borkowski. Mr. Borkowski would then book the passenger’s flight with fraudulently obtained miles and send the PRN number back to the men, who would transmit it to the passengers to generate a boarding pass.
The conspiracy involved the loss of millions of earned airline miles.
An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted, Mr. Borkowski and his coconspirators each face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. The extradition from Poland was secured through the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sid Mody is prosecuting the case.
