Southwest Airlines employee charged with stealing $79,000 in travel vouchers

A Southwest Airlines employee has been charged by St. Louis police in connection with the alleged theft of approximately $79,000 in traveler’s checks, which the airline allows its employees to give to passengers who experience other common travel issues while traveling with Southwest.

Customer service representative Brooklyn Jones allegedly stole hundreds of travelers’ checks, officially called Southwest Luv Vouchers (SLVs), while working at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Jones was arrested by airport police after a tip from Southwest’s internal security team, who launched an investigation based on suspicions about their employee’s activities.

Southwest investigators discovered that Jones had printed the vouchers for his own use, using the names and information of passengers he had helped at the airport.

After Jones presented the evidence he had gathered, he confessed in a written statement to stealing the traveler’s checks, which has now been turned over to local prosecutors.

After Jones confessed to the crime, he led Southwest’s security team to his airport locker, where they discovered a stack of 119 vouchers worth $36,300.

Southwest then called the police, who arrested Jones on suspicion of theft. In a police interview, Jones claimed that he believed he was the only employee in St. Louis who stole the Luv vouchers, although the crime is far from unique.

While Jones claims the stolen vouchers were for his own personal use only, Southwest has had problems in the past with customer service representatives at the airport stealing the vouchers to sell to organized crime gangs.

In June, a Southwest airport employee in Chicago was charged with 12 counts of internet fraud, allegedly giving out $1.87 million in travel vouchers to bogus passengers.

Dajuan Martin, 36, allegedly conspired with another Southwest employee to issue travelers’ checks worth $200 to $500. Over five years, Martin became so prolific that she allegedly issued nearly $2 million in fraudulent travelers’ checks.

Southwest has confirmed that Jones is no longer employed by the airline.