A New York flight attendant was arrested at Miami International Airport Friday for allegedly using her airline travel benefits to target a 75-year-old Florida woman in a $25,000 sweepstakes scam.
Destiny Blake, 24, of Brooklyn, is accused of exploiting her American Airlines standby perks to fly to the victim’s Palm Coast home and continue draining her accounts even while working at Daytona Beach and Charlotte airports. The total loss to the senior citizen reached approximately $25,310, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The scheme began in November when the elderly woman received a call from someone claiming to represent Publishers Clearing House, the digital sweepstakes company, who told her she had won a prize. To collect her supposed winnings, she was instructed to send a $500 gift card to “Destiny Blake” in Brooklyn. It remains unclear whether Blake herself placed that initial call.
The woman complied, but soon found herself locked out of her own email account with the address changed to one she did not recognize. Over just four days, she withdrew more than $14,000 from her bank, with Blake allegedly receiving $14,220 through cash and Zelle payments.
The financial exploitation deepened through unauthorized credit card use. Between November 16 and December 11, the victim’s card accumulated charges of $10,590. Investigators traced $1,740 in eBay purchases shipped to Blake’s address and $1,523 spent on Apple products. Additional charges totaling $1,300 surfaced at a T-Mobile store, Ugg, a Brooklyn salon, and through Uber rides and Uber Eats orders, police said.
Surveillance video captured Blake allegedly using the credit cards at a Queens supermarket, while online orders were placed using her own name, email address and phone number, according to investigators. A handwritten note discovered at the victim’s home instructed the woman to tell her card provider that Blake was her granddaughter and authorized to use the account.
“Most flight attendants use their benefits to see the world,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a release Tuesday. “Blake used hers to further a scam against a senior resident, live a lavish lifestyle using stolen bank cards and thinking she could get away with it.”
“Her wings were clipped by our detectives and with the help of [Customs and Border Protection] she was arrested,” Staly continued. “Her next trip? Flagler County to be held accountable for her crimes.”
Blake faces charges of organized scheme to defraud over $20,000 from a victim 65 or older, fraudulent use of personal identification information of a person 60 or older, and grand theft over $20,000. She was booked into Miami-Dade County jail before posting a $30,000 bond.
American Airlines has been approached for comment.