{"id":441958,"date":"2026-10-29T23:28:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T23:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/441958\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T23:28:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T23:28:21","slug":"25k-senior-scam-investigation-leads-to-flight-attendants-arrest-at-miami-airport-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/441958\/","title":{"rendered":"$25K senior scam investigation leads to flight attendant\u2019s arrest at Miami airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 An American Airlines<\/a> flight attendant is accused of using her travel perks to fly to a Palm Coast woman\u2019s home as part of a sweepstakes scam that cost the 75-year-old more than $25,000.<\/p>\n

24-year-old Destiny Blake of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested Friday night at Miami International Airport<\/a> after arriving on an international flight, according to the Flagler County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Investigators said the scam began in November 2025, when someone claiming to represent Publishers Clearing House<\/a> told the victim she had won a sweepstakes. She was instructed to mail a $500 gift card to Blake at a Brooklyn address.<\/p>\n

The victim later withdrew more than $14,000 from her bank, with Blake allegedly receiving $14,220 through cash and Zelle payments. Investigators also found the victim\u2019s email password had been changed and her account switched to a look-alike address.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 18, Blake allegedly used her flight attendant benefits to fly standby from New York to Daytona Beach before taking an Uber to a Palm Coast hotel.<\/p>\n

See also: Deadly pedestrian v. Brightline crash closes intersection in Delray Beach<\/a><\/p>\n

The next morning, an Uber reportedly dropped her off at the victim\u2019s home shortly before 11 a.m. About 15 minutes later, another Uber took her back to the airport.<\/p>\n

Detectives say they later determined Blake had an Apple Card as an authorized user on the victim\u2019s account. A family member found a note instructing the victim to tell the card company Blake was her granddaughter and had permission to use the card.<\/p>\n

Between Nov. 16 and Dec. 11, 2025, investigators say they identified 88 credit card charges totaling $10,590.30. Purchases included Apple products, an eBay order shipped to Blake\u2019s home, clothing, phone services, and dozens of Uber rides and Uber Eats orders.<\/p>\n

One Uber ride was paid for in Jamaican dollars in Kingston, Jamaica, two days after Blake flew there while working for American Airlines, investigators said.<\/p>\n

Detectives also obtained surveillance video allegedly showing Blake using the victim\u2019s card at a Queens supermarket. The victim\u2019s total losses were estimated at $25,310.<\/p>\n

An arrest warrant was issued Oct. 13, 2026, according to court documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost flight attendants use their benefits to see the world. Blake used hers to further a scam against a senior resident, live a lavish lifestyle using stolen bank cards and thinking she could get away with it,\u201d Sheriff Rick Staly<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

Blake faces charges of organized scheme to defraud more than $20,000 from a victim 65 or older, fraudulent use of personal identification information of a person 60 or older, and grand theft over $20,000.<\/p>\n

She was taken to the Miami-Dade County jail<\/a> and later released on a $30,000 bond.<\/p>\n

See also: Okeechobee woman accused of faking daughter’s disappearance, filing missing report<\/a><\/p>\n

Anyone who believes they were targeted in a similar scam or had financial contact with Blake is asked to call the Flagler County Sheriff\u2019s Office at 386-313-4911.<\/p>\n

Families can find tips for protecting older adults\u2019 phones, email and financial accounts at flaglersheriff.com\/senior-safety. Suspected financial exploitation can also be reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline<\/a> at 1-800-962-2873.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 An American Airlines flight attendant is accused of using her travel perks to fly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-441958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}