Area travel agent charged as part of national vacation scam – Port Arthur News

An area travel agent believed to be part of a nationwide vacation-travel scam was arrested Tuesday and authorities believe there could be more victims of the crime.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of a nationwide vacation-travel scam, in which the suspect, 38 year-old Mary Emily Lockard-Furry was said to live within Jefferson County.

Authorities believe that when Emily 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, 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, Furry would 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.

The gravity of this scam rapidly increased and a multitude of victims began to come forward requesting help.

The initiative to help those victimized by Furry was taken by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.

An initial case was presented to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office resulting in the issuance of an arrest warrant for Furry.

The course of the investigation further led Detectives to Emily Furry’s home in Bevil Oaks where a search warrant was executed Monday, June 17, 2024.

Detectives and Fugitive Warrant Division Deputies arrested Emily Furry on Tuesday June 18th for Theft by Deception, a State Jail Felony at a residence in rural Jefferson County. Furry was transported to the Jefferson County Correctional Facility where bond is pending arrangement.

Also on Tuesday, the case was presented to the Jefferson County Grand Jury and she was indicted on this charge.

This investigation is ongoing, as there are many more individual’s suffering loss as a result of Furry’s fraudulent vacation scam, authorities said.

The detectives of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office will continue their work to assist them.

If you feel you have been a victim of Furry’s crimes, please contact your local law enforcement agency to make a report. We ask that you then contact the JCSO Criminal Investigations Division at 409.835.8411 to notify us of any additional investigations