An owner of a travel company in the Western part of New York has been indicted because of the sales of excursions to nonprofit entities, while afterwards failing in booking such trips.
The office of the attorney general of the state has stated that the grand jury of the county of Niagara has charged the owner, 40-year-old Joseph Ehrenreich, of Oakwood.
He has been indicted with a count of scheme with hopes of defrauding within the very first degree, as well as nine counts within grand larceny within the third degree along with eleven counts within grand larceny within the fourth degree.
Joseph Ehrenreich ended up getting arraigned in front of a judge of the country of Niagara, Matthew Murphy. His bail was set at twenty thousand dollars in bonds or cash.
Joseph Ehrenreich has been accused of providing businesses, as well as various other organizations, programs in which they will be able to give money to obtain access that is unlimited to vouchers of cruises. Such organizations would eventually distribute these vouchers as tools to raise funds, incentives to market products or rewards for employees. Joseph Ehrenreich has allegedly claimed that he would take care of every single travel arrangement that is based on his numerous and extensive relationships with important cruise lines, as well as his memberships within the international association of cruise lines and the travel agents network of international airlines. In fact, as investigators have stated, Joseph Ehrenreich does not seem to have been affiliated with any of these trade groups.
According to their attorney general, Joseph Ehrenreich oftentimes tried to convince his consumers to give their vouchers upgrades that ended up costing more than thousands of dollars in extra unnecessary charges. Afterwards, he would require consumers to pay instantly with cash or check to keep their reservation. Payments by credit cards were never accepted. After he then received payment, Joseph Ehrenreich would end up issuing invoices along with fake confirmations of cruise lines and even codes of accreditation. Consumers will only find out later while following up that these bookings for trips were actually never reserved for them.
The investigators have claimed that Joseph Ehrenreich has allegedly stolen much more than a hundred thousand dollars in payments from much more than twenty businesses, consumers, as well as non-profit corporations for cruises that was never even booked.
When it comes to the actual groups of nonprofit, which includes volunteers and workers, that happened to be victimized come along with the Blocher/Beechwood Foundation, the Hospice Care Group and Palliative Care Group within the country of Niagara and the foundation of Meals on Wheels that is located to the West of New York.
The Hospice Care Group and Palliative Care Group have both chosen to pay almost two hundred thousand dollars to those that have been victimized and affected from the vouchers that they had given out and distributed. Reaching within for a comment on this indictment, the Hospice Care Group, as well as the Palliative Care Group will commend these actions done by the attorney general. They are also completely confident of justice prevailing in the end.
If he ends up convicted, the ultimate in serious charges would come with a term in prison of seven years.
