Four Flight Attendants Arrested in Miami After Being Caught With $22,000 in Their Luggage

Four American Airlines flight attendants were arrested at Miami International Airport on Monday for money laundering.

Carlos Alberto Munoz-Moyano, Maria Isabel Wilson-Ossandon, Maria Beatriz Pasten-Cuzmar and Miaria Delpilar Roman-Strick were passing through a routine customs check after returning from Chile and when they were caught traveling with $22,671 in cash among them, according to the Miami Herald.

%image1

Munoz-Moyano, 40, was the first flight attendant to go through customs and told the border patrol agent that he had $100 in cash on him. When he was searched, authorities found $9,000 — which caused the other American Airlines employees to be stopped and checked.

Roman-Strick and Wilson-Ossandon also claimed they were carrying under $100 but had thousands on them without a license to do so.

They claimed they were bringing the money into the country on behalf of someone else and were supposed to receive one percent of what they were carrying.

According to the police report obtained by The Herald, fellow flight attendant Cuzmar, 55, didn't carry cash on her but is said to have directed the others "to transport U.S. currency into the United States and deliver it to a known person.”

All four — who are residents of Santiago, Chile — were charged with money laundering by evading reporting requirements. If found guilty, the flight attendants face up to five years in prison.

They are currently in Miami-Dade County jail with a $10,000 bond and a hold for immigration.

“We take this matter seriously and are cooperating with law enforcement throughout their investigation,” an American Airlines spokesperson told the outlet.

These are not the only airline employees to be arrested regarding wrongdoings with money recently. Last month, a Delta employee was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport when a bag containing more than $250,000 went missing.