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NJ couple charged in million-dollar travel scam
A New Jersey couple has been charged with conning 1,000 customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by promising free cruises and airfare in return for up-front fees.
Daryl Turner and his wife, Robyn Bernstein, are accused of using $700,000 of the money they pocketed to buy a mansion in Marlton, NJ, on which authorities now have placed a lien.
The government also has seized three cars—a Bentley, a Ferrari, and a Range Rover.
Authorities said the couple charged between $2,200 and $6,500 for the vacation packages plus $300 in fees, promising large discounts, and free cruises and airfares for two.
Over the past four years they opened eight travel companies, closing each and moving on to a new one as customers began to complain to authorities.
In an indictment announced last week, the two were charged with conspiracy, money laundering, theft by deception, and failing to file state income tax returns.
Turner actually conned authorities as well. When the State Division of Consumer Affairs filed its first complaint against him in 2009, he agreed to pay more than $3 million and to stay out of the travel business for five years. And then he never paid.
The charges against him now carry prison sentences of 10 to 20 years and penalties up to $1 million.
Cheryl
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