The media often presents white collar crime as big corporation embezzlement or public corruption. Any charge involving nonviolent crimes for financial gain may fall under the term.

But as The Herald-Mail reports, a Missouri man exploited a computer system glitch to swindle from the airline and his family and friends.

Refunding the nonrefundable

A Ladue resident admitted to buying American Airline gift cards with his personal credit cards. He would then spend the gift cards to buy airline tickets for his family, friends and associates before applying for a refund for the purchase on his credit card — instead of the nonrefundable gift cards.

By pitching himself as an experienced travel agent, he bought and exploited gift cards between 2016 and 2018. He bought 690 gift cards in 2018 alone.

Paying restitution

The scam extended to his family as he would accept their money and flip the money the same way—totalling $20,000 in accepted payments.

The man managed to scam about $160,000 from American Airlines. His lawyer agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of wire fraud and waive indictment by a grand jury. In exchange for the plea agreement, the prosecutors and his lawyer agreed to recommend probation and a repayment of about $180,000

Defending against charges in any way

Every charge is a serious threat to a defendant’s way of life. Even if they are nonviolent, white collar crimes may have life-altering legal consequences. Defenses against these charges range from dedicated fights over a defendant’s innocence or reasonable concessions in the light of certain evidence. Having the right resources and guidance may help anyone in this situation.