Couple Plead Guilty In Southwest Airlines Ticket Scam

Althea Jackson and her husband James Jackson soon will no longer be free to move about the country. The Jacksons pleaded guilty to wire fraud last Tuesday in US District Court in San Antonio in connection with the theft and resale of more than 5,600 ticket vouchers from Southwest Airlines. Althea Jackson, formerly an administrative aide at Southwest Airlines’ Dallas headquarters, admitted taking the “Non Revenue Must Ride” ticket vouchers over a three year period. The vouchers are normally reserved for inconvenienced passengers, but James Jackson resold them for far less than market value, mainly in the San Antonio area. The loss to Southwest was estimated by prosecutors to be at least $1.8 million.

The unusual aspect of this case is that James Jackson was a bailiff for Bexar County Court-at-Law Judge Monica Guerrero in San Antonio, and many of the stolen ticket vouchers wound up in the hands of several Bexar County public officials including Judge Guerrero and District Attorney Susan Reed and their staffs, as well as some local attorneys.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 8, 2008. The Jacksons are expected to serve 24 to 30 months in prison under the plea agreement. The San Antonio Express-News has the story here and further details of county employees’ involvement here.