Missing travel agent does runner… to the police

Jordan Dittloff, the Victorian travel agent who disappeared with his clients’ money, has been arrested.

As per the Herald Sun, Dittloff was suspected of nabbing a whopping $207,000 from up to 45 clients who booked travel arrangements with him at his agency Ace Travel in Colac.

The owner-manager disappeared on June 1, leaving his agency closed, its website offline and Dittloff’s twitter account deactivated.

Dittloff handed himself in to Melbourne West police station on Friday June 11, following a story from the Herald Sun that claimed police were suspicious that Dittloff was still in Victoria.

Colac Crime Investigation Unit detectives struck up an investigation into Ace Travel and Dittloff after dozens of would-be holiday-makers reported that their bookings had not been made, despite payments being wrapped up months earlier, according to the Herald Sun.

Dittloff has been charged with “a series of quite serious offences” by Magistrate John Hardy, but has been granted bail on the condition that he reports to his local police station three times per week, with Dittloff offering no explanations when he walked free from Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.

Dittloff did, however, say that a “media release” was being written up, and would aim to explain the situation.

The 27-year-old was also placed on a curfew between 11pm and 6am, writes the Herald Sun, and had to surrender his passport and was forbidden from travelling interstate or overseas.

Among them are 32 members of the local Colac-Scout group who spent 18 months fundraising for a volunteering trip, according to Ninemsn.

“We paid our money, and even though we had indications it had been paid to Fiji Airlines, that wasn’t the case,” Venturer Leader Geoff Delarue told Ninemsn.

Ace Travel had previously been a Jetset member up until 2012, but then was taken over by Dittloff.

AFTA confirmed to Travel Weekly that the agency was not a member under Dittloff’s ownership, and does not hold ATAS accreditation.

Meanwhile, AFTA Board members have since met to tighten ATAS accreditation criteria.

Dittloff will face Geelong Magistrates’ Court for a committal mention on September 18.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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