Georgia man charged with fraud for posing as flight crew member

An Atlanta man is accused of booking airline reservations by pretending to be a flight crew member.

Prosecutors say Gilbert Myers Jr., 37, was taken into custody late Thursday afternoon after agreeing to meet a potential traveler who was actually an undercover FBI agent.

The indictment says travelers illegally boarded planes while pretending to be employees of other airlines. Prosecutors say Myers typically charged the travelers $2,000 for one year of free flights.

According to court documents, Myers would call airline reservation centers and pretend to be a flight crew member for another airline. He would then give them the name of a traveler, the airline he supposedly worked for, a phony employee identification number and a date of hire.

According to prosecutors, Myers advised the travelers on how to dress for their trip and how to answer questions they may be asked by airport officials verifying their information.

Investigators believe that Myers booked hundreds of flights on air carriers such as JetBlue Airways and United Airlines, costing the victims hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

Myers was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of wire fraud.

Prosecutors say the conspiracy and wire fraud charges each carry a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

WSBTV