BOSTON, Oct. 10, 2013—A Chinatown travel agent was arraigned today on charges she used her position to steal thousands of dollars from customers, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

LINDA DO (D.O.B. 4/7/56) of Dorchester was arraigned on 14 separate dockets charging 14 counts of larceny over $250 and nine counts of larceny over $250 from a person 60 or older. The charges reflect a total of 14 victims, nine of whom are 60 or older.

Assistant District Attorney Neil Flynn requested that bail be set in the amount of $5,000 per docket – or $70,000 – and that Do be ordered to surrender her passport and stay away and have no contact with victims and witnesses.  Judge Raymond Dougan released Do on her own recognizance and granted the requested conditions of release.  He additionally ordered Do to wear a GPS monitor and provide a financial statement to the court.

According to prosecutors, Do represented herself as the owner of Olympic Travel on Harrison Avenue. Do allegedly accepted payments from customers who expected her to make flight reservations with the funds.  She allegedly offered those customers a 10 percent discount in return for making payments in cash.

However, prosecutors allege that Do either failed to make the promised travel arrangements or cancelled the arrangements after receiving her payment. Either way, the victims did not receive their plane tickets or refunds for their losses.  The victims – most of whom were from the greater Boston area – lost approximately $16,000 as a result of the scheme that continued from May through September, prosecutors said.

“Many of these victims were older and needed a translator to speak with investigators,” Conley said. “As outrageous as it sounds, they might have been considered easy targets. Fortunately, they came forward and told Boston Police what happened. If others have been cheated the same way, or if people know of other similar scams, we want to hear about them.”

When contacted by investigators, Do allegedly made statements that she did not have money and could not return the victim’s payments, prosecutors said.

The investigation by Boston Police detectives is ongoing and authorities did not rule out additional charges if other victims come forward.

Do is represented by attorney Stephen Gomes.  She will return to court tomorrow.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.