Meet Kay Hooper, a woman who not only conned Norwegian Cruise Line out of nearly $70,000 worth of cruises… but then convinced a judge to lift her sentence long enough to go on holiday.
She Wanted Revenge
According to a story in Britain’s Express, the whole mess began when Kay Hooper lost her passport in Rome and, as a result, was unable to board the Norwegian ship which had transported her there. Furious at the cruise line, Hooper got her revenge by setting up a fake travel agency and booking herself on eight different high-end trips valued at just under $70,000.
The paper reports that Hooper “stayed in penthouse staterooms on all-inclusive deals and spent up to 10 days at a time cruising in luxury in the Mediterranean, the West Indies, Bermuda and Canada.” Among the Norwegian ships she sailed between April and September of 2015 were the Spirit, Epic and Star. This was, however, only a handful of the trips she had planned. In total, she had booked over 50 cruises which would have kept her sailing throughout 2017… and cost Norwegian over $350,000!
The Most Shocking Part
Facing fraud charges, Hooper was given a 20-month suspended sentence and given an electronic tag and curfew to wear for six months, putting her essentially under what would be considered house arrest in the states. But she later returned to the court and asked that the curfew be lifted… so she could to on vacation with her mother!
Judge Agreed
Apparently having a soft spot, the judge — upon learning that Hooper’s elderly mother, who booked and paid for the trip without knowledge of her daughter’s nefarious scheming. Was too frail to travel on her own — postponed Hooper’s sentence for three weeks.
“Almost Beyond Irony”
“In the context of the outrageous stream of holidays you took last year,” the judge reportedly said, “this application is almost beyond irony. The only saving grace is the evidence I have been shown that [your mother] paid for this… I would not [amend the order] if there was any suggestion you had booked this holiday.”
Read the full story here: https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/722067/conwoman-free-tagged-curfew-mexico-mother-ill-cancer-norwegian-cruise-line-kay-hooper
