Maurice Eugene Smith, Travel Agency Scam, Virginia 2024

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Atlanta Travel Agent Sentenced to 13 Months in Prison for Scamming Clients

Alexandria, VA – Maurice Eugene Smith, 45, was sentenced to one year and one month in prison for running a travel agency scam in Virginia. Smith operated a luxury travel company called EUGENE TORIKO LLC, which offered customized travel planning services to clients.

From September 2022 to November 2024, Smith took thousands of dollars from clients for booking travel and vacations to destinations such as St. Lucia, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Guatemala. However, instead of using the money to book legitimate travel arrangements, Smith used it for his own personal enrichment and to provide refunds to earlier customers.

According to court documents, Smith used the money to pay for his own personal travel to destinations such as Mexico and Panama, and even used it to place bets on sports betting sites. In some cases, clients had to cover the cost of their travel and accommodations themselves, as Smith had failed to use their money to book legitimate travel arrangements.

Two university sports programs and a college were also victims of Smith’s scam, with one university baseball team paying Smith for airline travel but ultimately having to pay additional funds for transportation by bus. A college booked a trip to Thailand for faculty and students, but Smith only purchased one-way airline tickets for all travelers but one, leaving them to pay for their return tickets out-of-pocket.

A university and its foundation paid $55,914.60 to a sports event marketing company for travel arrangements to the Bahamas for its men’s basketball team. However, Smith only used $57,736.07 of the money to pay for legitimate costs, and the rest was used for his own personal enrichment and to refund other victims.

U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert and FBI Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis announced the sentencing, which was handed down by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles. Smith’s sentencing marks the end of a lengthy investigation into his travel agency scam, which had victims across the country.