A travel agent is under investigation for scamming Bay Area residents who jointly lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel fare to Hawaii, which included flights, accommodations and excursions.
The Milpitas Police Department is investigating Wendy Wong and her Hawaii-based travel agency, House of Aloha Hawaii, after a resident reported booking services with the agency that were never received.
Since the initial report on Aug. 8, Milpitas Police have identified an additional 12 victims in Santa Clara County who also worked with the agency.
“The Milpitas Police Department referred this investigation to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for a criminal complaint against House of Aloha Hawaii for theft by false pretenses and failure to provide travel services as promised,” Milpitas Police Department said in a statement.
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A group of 100 people said they used House of Aloha Hawaii for a 25-year wedding anniversary trip and were collectively scammed out of $100,000, according to KTVU.
Cassandra Bernal said her family was one of 25 who used the travel agency to book the wedding anniversary trip, which was scheduled for this month, when she learned just days before the trip that no travel plans had been reserved. Bernal claims she lost more than $10,000.
“I’m still in shock,” Cassandra Bernal told KTVU. “How can anyone do this?”
In Alameda County, Jodi Gray of Castro Valley told KPIX that she paid $4,500 to stay at the Disney resort in Oahu with her family in January. Gray said she soon received a notice that her plans wouldn’t come to fruition. She claims the agency texted her saying they would only refund her half of what she paid.
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“I kept texting her and she’d say, ‘You’re on our list, I’m just in a bad situation right now,’” Gray told KPIX. “I’m really upset and right now I’m frustrated, and I just want Wendy to be arrested for what she’s done to all of these families.”
In an email to KGO, Wong declined to comment on the incident but told the outlet that her business was family and friend referral-based only, and that it was doing “fine until this mess.”
Milpitas police contacted the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, the California Department of Justice’s Seller of Travel Program, and the Honolulu Police Department in its investigation.
Police believe there may be other Milpitas residents who paid for travel services they never received or only partially received, and encouraged residents who may have a complaint to call the department at (408) 586-2400. Residents outside of Milpitas who did business with House of Aloha Hawaii should contact their local police department.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
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Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE producer. Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3