CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION ISSUES CEASE AND DESIST ORDER AGAINST BALTIMORE TRAVEL BUSINESS

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has issued a cease and desist order against a travel business that it alleges took payments from consumers for airplane tickets but failed to provide the tickets or a refund.

The Division has charged C. Nnamdi Okoye and Ahidjo Travel, Inc. with offering travel services and accepting payments for airline tickets from consumers without providing the tickets or refunds. Okoye operated Ahidjo Travel, Inc. at 6126 Belair Road, Baltimore and collected thousands of dollars from consumers for air travel to Nigeria, but did not provide the airline tickets or refunds.

The Division’s order immediately bars C. Nnamdi Okoye and Ahidjo Travel, Inc. from acting or offering to act as a travel business and collecting payments from consumers, and requires Okoye and Ahidjo Travel, Inc. to pay restitution to consumers identified in the Division’s statement of charges. The order further requires Okoye and Ahidjo Travel, Inc. to repay all of the money taken from consumers for airline tickets that they did not receive.

" This company and its principal are taking advantage of consumers in the Nigerian community," said Curran. "Companies that offer travel services and collect advance payments for airline tickets must provide those tickets or return the money."

The company has 30 days to seek a hearing on the order. Consumers who may have had problems with Ahidjo Travel, Inc. or C. Nnamdi Okoye should call the Consumer Protection Division at (410) 576-6569.

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