A Texas man has been sentenced in California to two-and-a-half years in prison for being the mastermind of an airline ticket scam that resulted in more than 2,000 free flights for himself and others.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California says Hubbard Bell, 32, fraudulently created fake counterfeit employee identification badges for Mesa Airlines, where he formerly worked, allowing people to present the IDs for free flights on Spirit Airlines.

United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald sentenced Bell to 30 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $150,000 in restitution to the victim, Spirit Airlines. Bell had pleaded guilty in September 2020 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to the U.S. Attorney, Bell worked at the Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines, a regional air carrier, from June 2015 to October 2015. While employed at Mesa, Bell was provided access to free Spirit Airlines tickets as a benefit he was permitted to use only while employed at Mesa. To book a free ticket on Spirit, a Mesa employee entered their personal identifying information and a unique verification code.

After Mesa Airlines terminated Bell’s employment, from February 2016 to November 2017, he conspired with others to sell the stolen and unauthorized information of Mesa employees – including their names, dates of hire, and employee identification numbers – that were needed to book free flights on Spirit Airlines through Spirit’s web portal for themselves and others.

Bell unlawfully used his Mesa employee information to book 34 free flights for himself on Spirit, which allowed him to fly interstate, including into and out of Los Angeles International Airport, despite the fact Mesa Airlines no longer employed him. Bell also admitted he and his co-conspirators manufactured and sold fraudulent Mesa employee identification cards for use by the fraudulent travelers.

In total, the investigation into Bell and his co-conspirators has identified 1,953 flights that were connected to this scheme, flights that were booked for someone that did not match the Mesa Airlines employee whose information was used to book the free flight. The court found the loss to Spirit Airlines was approximately $150,000.