Men Are Threatened With Tens Of Years In Prison For Pretending To Be Cabin Crew For Free Flying

JAKARTA - A man accused of pretending to be a steward to earn dozens of free plane tickets is being charged with fraud via wire and entering a safe area at an airport.

Tiron Alexander, 35, was found guilty by a federal jury after picking up 34 free plane tickets he got by pretending to be a steward or pilot, US District Attorney in South Florida said in a Tuesday release.

In addition, he was also convicted of entering a safe area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for false reasons, authorities said.

The man worked on an unnamed airline headquartered in Dallas starting in 2015, court documents said, but not as a pilot or steward. The scheme for obtaining free tickets, for airlines headquartered in Florida, begins in 2018 and continues into 2024, according to court documents.

Alexander was charged with this charge in Florida. He was arrested in California in February.

The tickets Alexander gets are for stewards and pilots. Free flights are one of the main advantages of working as a pilot or steward. This benefit is given based on seniority and working period.

Using the airline's online ticket system, Alexander admitted that he had worked regularly for seven different airlines, according to the prosecutor's news release.

He was convicted on four counts of fraud via cable and one charge of illegally entering the airport's safe area.

Alexander was represented by lawyers at the public defense office in Miami. CNN has contacted them for comment.

Authorities accused Alexander of ordering more than 100 flights by pretending to be a steward.

The plan is that Alexander will be sentenced to a sentence in August. He faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of fraud via cable and up to 10 years for entering an airport safe area, according to the indictment.