The operator of Hempstead, N.Y.-based Sunshine Vacations and Celebrity Travel was arrested earlier this month by Nassau County authorities for allegedly defrauding at least 40 clients of Magic Carpet Travel of Tecumseh, Ontario.
According to the police report, the operator, Jerry Cummings (aka Andrew Cummings) “failed to provide purchased travel services (including air fare and hotel reservations) to clients, causing losses estimated at over $40,000.”
After being arrested by Nassau County’s Crimes Against Property Squad, Cummings was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on May 11 on charges of “grand larceny and scheming to defraud.” He is currently free on $10,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on June 1.
This is the second time Cummings has been charged with travel-related fraud. He was arrested in April 2005 on charges that he defrauded American Express out of $182,000. Those charges were later dismissed, said Diane Peress, bureau chief of economic crimes of the Nassau County District Attorney’s office. But she said the case was “still under investigation by several agencies and another district attorney’s office.”
Cummings’ attorney, Steven Gaitman of Uniondale, N.Y., told Travel Weekly, “We’re going to fight the charges, and we expect him to be totally exonerated. He had a similar charge in the past, and the case was dismissed. We don’t expect any different result this time.”
Attempts to reach Cummings or Sunshine Vacations through previously published office numbers, toll-free numbers and e-mail addresses were unsuccessful.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s office is asking anyone with information about similar or related problems with Cummings or Sunshine Vacations/Celebrity Travel to contact Justin Heiferman, assistant district attorney, at (516) 571-2149 or at [email protected].
To contact reporter David Cogswell, send e-mail to [email protected].