HARDEEVILLE, S.C. (WTOC) – Have you ever fallen victim to a scam?
They are becoming more prevalent nationwide and can sometimes lead to the loss of a lot of money.
In one South Carolina family’s case, they used a trusted travel agent to plan a trip to Disney World, but the trip to the happiest place on earth turned into several interviews with law enforcement.
Austin Spolski, a teacher, just wanted to plan a trip to Disney World with her family and some romantic getaways with her husband.
Just like in years past, she went through the same travel agent, Ann Malphrus.
They used her to go to the beach and other places around the country.
“Didn’t really have any issues; there would be some things here and there, but like if anything were to happen, she kind of fixed it,” Spolski said.
Spolski says Malphrus would get discounts on trips for her family when they would book with her.
“The reason I continued to use her was that she was able to give us such great deals.”
Amanda Harness of Richmond Hill used Malphrus in the past and earlier this year decided to go through her again.
This time it was to book hotels to stay at, while her son competed on the baseball diamond.
“We all, a few of the other families as well, used her, and we all show up; most of us had issues with our room,” Harness said.
For Spolski, the fall break trip to Disney World never happened, and the other trips were never booked.
In total, Spolski says she lost nearly $11,000.
“We were supposed to leave on Sunday, and Monday my daughter was like, ‘ Mom, what would we be doing if we were in Disney World right now?’” Spolski said. “So that was hard because my kids are disappointed, and it’s not anything I did; it’s what someone else did.”
In Harness’ case, the hotels were never booked, and she quickly had to find other arrangements.
She had to pay for the new places to stay out of her own pocket.
She says she lost thousands and even tried to get the money back from Malphrus, but Malphrus allegedly sent it in the mail and it still hasn’t arrived.
Both women say they paid Malphrus using Venmo, and when they would reach out to check on their confirmations, Malphrus would give similar responses.
“Ann was like, ‘Oh, I’m showing you have a reservation on my end, this is the hotel,’” Harness said. “And she would always have some kind of excuse. Just enough information, where you couldn’t prove anything.”
Both say they are not alone and that there are other victims in other states across the Southeast and in Missouri.
A lot of them connected with one another through Facebook.
“The moment we all connected, there was no doubt in our minds she was lying because she lied to all of us,” Harness said.
Spolski says she was shocked to see this happen and wonders what happened to Malphrus over the last couple of years.
“I just think that she was in so much of a hole, I think she owed people so much money, that she was using my money to pay other people,” Spolski said.
The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged Malphrus with Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent.
Since her arrest last week, officials say Malphrus bonded out of jail late Monday.
The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office has received information leading them to believe there may be additional individuals who have been victims of similar transactions involving Malphrus.
Anyone who believes they may have entered into a similar transaction with Malphrus is encouraged to contact their local law enforcement agency and file an official report. Any documentation or communications related to the transaction should be provided to law enforcement.
They also say that Malphrus is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
WTOC has also learned Malphrus is also employed as a revenue specialist with the City of Hardeeville.
In a statement from the City of Hardeeville, they say, “Ms. Malphrus has been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending further investigation into this situation. Because the charges against her are wholly unrelated to her employment with the city, the city has no comment on those matters that are personal to Ms. Malphrus.”
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