Travel agent indicted in national scam faces more local charges

Theft of property charges against a local travel agent are mounting since the June 18 arrest of Mary Emily Lockard-Furry.

On July 10, Lockard-Furry, 38, surrendered to Hardin County law enforcement on additional theft charges at approximately 2:22 a.m., Sheriff Mark Davis said. Bond was set at $15,000 and she was released at 10:02 a.m. the same day after posting bond. The charges are related to a Chambers County investigation.

Officials in Chambers County recently learned of the nationwide vacation-travel scam where Lockard-Furry allegedly took money from individuals in the Chambers and Jefferson County areas.

On June 14, Chambers County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a complaint regarding Lockard-Furry. The complainant reported having used Lockard-Furry as a travel agent to plan an upcoming trip, making various large payments to her through Venmo, according to information from Chambers County Sheriff’s Office.

The complainant began seeing news coverage about Lockard-Furry’s fraudulent activity and filed a report with Chambers County Sheriff’s Office. A warrant was then issued for her arrest on a charge of theft of property >=$2,500K<$30K, (State jail felony.)

Hardin County Sheriff Mark Davis said there are pending cases against Lockard-Furry in Hardin County as well.

“There are several pending investigation’s related to the same set of circumstances in our county,” Davis said.

Davis explained, generally speaking, that a victim is allowed to file criminal charges in the county in which they live or the county in which the crime occurred.

In addition, a person with a warrant can self-surrender to any county jail they choose.

Lockard-Furry was first arrested in Jefferson County on June 18, for the same charge and bonded out the next day. This investigation is ongoing, as more individuals come forward with reports of being scammed.

Authorities believe that when Lockard-Furry, owner/operator of Traveluxe LLC. was hired to make travel arrangements for individuals and families seeking travel assistance for vacations, primarily out of country, Lockard-Furry would often request payment up front then make initial reservations to hold a hotel room, for example, but not follow through with the financial portion of the travel arrangements.

Instead, Lockard-Furry would reportedly pocket the money leaving her customers without any type of secure reservation and in some instances stranded out of the country without any of the promised reservations or accommodations.

If you feel you have been a victim of Lockard-Furry’s crimes, you are asked to contact your local law enforcement agency to make a report. You are then asked to contact the JCSO Criminal Investigations Division at 409.835.8411 to notify them of any additional investigations.

The post Travel agent indicted in national scam faces more local charges appeared first on Port Arthur News .