MILPITAS — Authorities are investigating claims from more than a dozen Milpitas residents who say Wendy Wong — who runs House of Aloha Hawaii travel company — scammed them out of thousands of dollars after they trusted her to book vacation packages for them.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said it is looking for any other cases from people who also paid for travel booking services and didn’t receive some or all of them as promised from the company, and has set up a dedicated email address for people to submit their stories.
Milpitas Police said in a statement that after receiving a complaint from a Milpitas resident about paying House of Aloha Hawaii for travel services, but not receiving them, they investigated further and found 12 other victims.
Police referred the case to the district attorney’s office to possibly bring charges against House of Aloha Hawaii for theft by false pretenses and failure to provide travel services as promised.
Several people have shared troubling stories online and with media outlets recently about their experience with Wong, who grew up in Milpitas but is now believed to be living in Hawaii. Even Wong’s father said she scammed him and his wife out of money.
Johnny Phan, a Milpitas resident, took to Facebook to spread the word about Wong, who he called a “fraud” in a post earlier this month. He claims nearly 100 of his friends and family members had saved money to travel to Maui, where he and his wife would renew their wedding vows after 25 years together and celebrate.
He said he knew Wong for decades because of their Milpitas ties, and trusted her with his large group’s money and booking needs.
“What happened next is just cruel, evil, and despicable. Wendy took all of our money,” he wrote in the post.
“Over $100,000 for the group. She never booked and paid for any airfare, hotel, luau, snorkel, dinner, ceremony venue, flowers, or anything else. Nobody knows where $100,000 went. We heard a lot of excuses and stories. Nothing but lies on top of lies,” he said.
Wong’s father, Ted Tenedora, who goes by Junior, said he believes the allegations against his daughter from Phan and others in the Bay Area are legitimate, because Wong also scammed him and his wife out of nearly $20,000 in a bank transfer scheme in June.
“I sincerely believe they’re true,” Tenedora said of the allegations in an interview Wednesday.
“My wife and I grieve for all the losses of the people that got scammed. It’s not part of our values,” he said.
“I’ve broken off my relationship with her, because too many people were harmed. I feel betrayed.”
He said the House of Aloha Hawaii company is, in reality, a “house of cards, house of distrust, and deceit and lies. That’s the way I feel.”
ABC 7 reported Tuesday that in an email earlier this week to a House of Aloha Hawaii client, management said the business is permanently closing.
“The purpose of this letter is to notify you that House of Aloha Hawaii will be permanently closing down as we have suffered irrecoverable business losses. Any current and future bookings will be canceled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,” the email from House of Aloha Hawaii said.
Wong has not responded to this news organization’s request for comment.
A picture of Wendy Wong on a digital flyer for the business seen on the American Society of Travel Advisors site is positioned next to a tagline that says “The journey is what it’s all about. Being able to create endless adventure and lasting memories for you is my top priority.”
Garner Morris, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney in the consumer protection division, confirmed the office is looking into cases where people claim “thousands of dollars” have been lost due to Wong’s practices, though he didn’t confirm a total amount, as the investigation is active.
Morris said anyone who paid for travel services through House of Aloha Hawaii but did not receive all or some of those services should email the office at [email protected].