Baggage Bandit: Kenner Man Admits $550K Airline Scam

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Pernell Anthony Jones, Jr., 31, of Kenner, Louisiana, is facing serious time after admitting to a brazen scheme to defraud airlines out of over half a million dollars. Jones pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, according to U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

The con began around 2015. Jones hopped on flights using fake IDs, then immediately reported his baggage as lost upon arrival. He and his crew flooded airlines – including American, Alaska, Southwest, United, and JetBlue – with over 180 bogus claims, totaling over $550,000 in requested reimbursements. The airlines, unfortunately, fell for it, shelling out over $300,000 in fraudulent payouts.

Law enforcement first caught wind of Jones’s operation on April 7, 2018, at Dallas Love Airport. TSA agents found him attempting to pass through security with a staggering haul: 36 fraudulent driver’s licenses and 47 credit cards, all under assumed names. He wasn’t deterred. On March 5, 2020, Jones was arrested *again*, this time while trying to collect a reimbursement check for another fabricated baggage claim at Louis Armstrong International Airport in Kenner.

A search of Jones’s residence on March 5, 2020, revealed the depth of his operation. Cops seized 34 more fake driver’s licenses, 21 phony work IDs, and a cache of fraudulent airline employee badges – all sporting Jones’s photo. It was a one-man identity theft factory, designed to bleed airlines dry. The feds clearly weren’t buying his excuses.

Jones now faces a maximum sentence of twenty (20) years imprisonment for each count, along with a potential fine of $250,000 per charge. He also risks up to three (3) years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan has scheduled sentencing for February 24, 2021. Expect a lengthy stay in federal prison for this repeat offender.

U.S. Attorney Evans commended the collaborative investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the City of Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carboni is prosecuting the case, aiming to deliver justice to the airlines victimized by Jones’s elaborate and costly scam. This case serves as a stark warning: identity theft and fraud will not be tolerated.

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