The individuals, namely Charlie Hernandez, 42, Sarah Valerio Pujols, 24, Emmanuel Torres, 34, and Jarol Fabio, 35, all New York City residents, are accused of exploiting their access to the "Known Crewmember (KCM)" lane. This privileged security lane, which bypasses standard security checks including X-ray screenings, was allegedly used by the suspects to transport large amounts of cash undetected, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated, “As alleged, these flight attendants smuggled millions of dollars of drug money and law enforcement funds that they thought was drug money from the United States to the Dominican Republic over many years by abusing their privileges as airline employees.”
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The accused flight attendants are facing charges for the illegal transfer of approximately $8 million to the Dominican Republic. The complaint outlines a December 2019 incident where Hernandez allegedly received $121,215, identified as drug trafficking proceeds, from an informant. Hernandez is reported to have subsequently shared part of this amount with Pujols for smuggling. The complaint further alleges that Torres smuggled at least $1.5 million from 2015 to 2022, while Fabio is accused of smuggling a similar amount between 2015 and 2023.
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Pujols' attorney confirmed her release from custody but refrained from further comment. NBC News reported that no legal representatives for Hernandez and Torres were listed in the court documents at the time. Delta Airlines, which confirmed that two of the accused are its employees, pledged its full cooperation with the investigation. “Delta has cooperated fully with law enforcement in this investigation and will continue to do so,” the airline stated, as reported by NBC News.
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