A former travel agent was found guilty Monday of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars paid by more than 150 parents for school trips canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. , sentenced to six months of home detention and six months of probation.
Marie Colette Martin, 53, is accused of using the funds she received for “personal expenses” after her trip was canceled instead of refunding them to her parents.
Martin was based in San Diego, but solicited travel funds from parents at nine different schools in Los Angeles and Orange counties, the California Attorney General's Office said.
The trip was scheduled to send eighth-graders from these schools to Washington, D.C., and other East Coast locations in 2020, but the pandemic prevented the trip from taking place.
Martin reportedly spent the money on personal expenses such as credit card purchases, rent, and art.
Prosecutors said she could not repay her parents because she was already “financially challenged, misappropriated client funds” and used their funds for personal expenses.
Mr. Martin, jointly prosecuted by the California Attorney General's Office and the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, pleaded guilty to one felony count of failure to repay funds as a travel seller.
She may later petition to have the charge reduced to a misdemeanor.
Prosecutors said the crime prohibited her from registering as a travel sales agent for seven years.
Martin had already paid about $256,000 in restitution at the time of Monday's sentencing hearing.
Prosecutors say some of that money will go to victims, while others have already been refunded through the Travel Consumer Relief Corporation. The corporation assists consumers who have suffered losses for a variety of reasons, including sellers not traveling to provide services.
City News Service contributed to this report.
