“That information is how he was ultimately caught, with his fraudulently secured flights piling up in Spirit’s log books until it was large enough for the airline to take notice,” court documents say.
A federal grand jury handed down the indictment in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida in October, but Alexander wasn’t taken into custody until February.
He was arrested trying to fly from San Francisco to Australia, according to court records.
Alexander most recently worked for American Airlines in customer service, court documents say, but had been suspended without pay for about a year when he was arrested.
His employment history, as detailed in filings, shows a long interest in aviation. He worked as a flight attendant for two regional airlines between 2013 and 2015.
He had since tried to return to the skies, applying to the Alaska Airlines pilot academy in 2022 and for flight attendant jobs at Alaska and Delta in 2024.
Prosecutors declined to comment; Alexander’s public defenders did not respond to emails requesting comment.
Alexander was convicted of four counts of wire fraud, each of which could carry a maximum of 20 years in prison, and one count of entering a secure airport area under false pretences, which has a maximum sentence of 10 years. Each count can also come with a top fine of $250,000.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in August, according to the Justice Department’s statement.
Trying to fly for free
It is not the first time a flyer has pulled one over on an airline.
Con man Frank Abagnale jnr said he posed as a pilot as a teenager for free flights, a feat that got him portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Catch Me if You Can.
A man in India tried to gain his own pilot perks with a fake ID before being arrested in 2019.
And a Houston man who had previously worked for an airline pleaded guilty to making false identity cards to get free flights on Spirit in 2021.
