Luke Costin and Miklos Bolza
A travel agent who cancelled customers’ flights and pocketed thousands of refunded dollars, blaming global events, has avoided more time behind bars over her betrayal of trust.
Travel World Sydney operator Zahra Rachid’s simple but effective fraud ran for more than eight months, purportedly to keep her struggling business afloat.
At least one of the victims arrived at Sydney Airport ready to fly to Europe, only to be told their plane ticket didn’t exist, the Downing Centre Local Court was told.
That person had to fork out more money on the spot to book new flights and keep their holiday plans.
All up, eight victims were defrauded of amounts ranging from $2000 to $50,360 before Rachid’s arrest in August 2024.
“The total amount that she gained is significant,” magistrate Susan Horan said.
“Two thousand dollars to one person may be significant life savings, as $50,000 might be to people in other financial circumstances.
“People were trusting her with their money.”
In all but one case, Rachid booked the customer’s flights, cancelled them and then passed on the cancelled booking to the customer as though it remained valid.
The scheme netted her more than $77,000.
Not a cent had been repaid by Rachid before her sentence on Friday, something not lost on the magistrate.
The former travel agent’s earning ability had been significantly curtailed since her arrest, including 255 days in custody on remand and another 11 months on strict bail conditions that effectively imposed home detention.
But she has not sought to compensate the victims in some small way, the magistrate said.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Horan said.
As she jailed Rachid for a minimum of six months, Horan noted guilty pleas to eight counts of fraud, her lack of criminal history and “deep and genuine” remorse.
Rachid had worked for 15 years in the industry before taking over a small business that catered to those wanting to travel to the Middle East.
The travel agency was “knocked for a six” by restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then travel advisories related to Israel’s war in Gaza, her barrister Ertunc Ozen, SC, earlier told the court.
“This was an extraordinary, admittedly serious criminal response to an extraordinary set of circumstances,” Ozen told the court.
The financial stress at the time included the loss of her apartment as she funnelled cash into the struggling business.
Diagnoses of chronic anxiety and panic attacks were also cited as reasons for poor decisions under pressure.
Other fraud charges were dropped after Rachid entered guilty pleas in November.
Highlighting a need to send a message to other small business owners, Horan sentenced Rachid to one year in prison, with a minimum of six months.
With time served, she walked from court on Friday.
The former agent was also ordered to repay $44,800 to the victims who had not already been compensated by their banks.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
From our partners
Read the full article here
