Lodi travel agent pleads not guilty to eight felony counts

A Lodi travel agent accused of bilking money from her clients pleaded not guilty Thursday to eight felony charges of theft and obtaining money by false pretenses.

Cindy Dee Kent, 48, is out of custody on the condition that she not engage in any travel-related business while the court case is pending. She will return to court Aug. 11.

Kent ran Lodi-based Great Adventure Travels, also known as Dream Vacations. More than a year ago customers began having problems with their trips and credit cards, and prosecutors said in court files that the troubles could date as far back as July 2005.

One of those trips involved 77 St. Mary's High School students who found themselves stranded at airports and in Hawaii with no flights or hotel rooms. Two parents, serving as chaperones, said they had to use their credit cards to pay more than $20,000 until the travel agency fixed matters — but they never got the money back.

Parent Ed Sullivan, who had a six-inch-thick stack of documents with him at Thursday's brief court appearance, said he is still out more than $9,000 and it has caused problems with his credit.

"Where did all the money go?" he said of the Hawaii trip, which cost about $1,100 per student.

Kent's retained attorney, Russell Humphrey, said he is not involved in the divorce proceeding. He did not comment on the theft allegations because he hasn't seen the evidence, which prosecutors will begin turning over now that the criminal proceedings have begun.

"Let's wait and see what the allegations are and how much money they're saying, and then we'll take it from there," he said after court.

Humphrey added that Kent is "very ill" with cancer and is traveling weekly to University of California, San Francisco, for medical treatments.

Illness wasn't enough of an excuse for the half dozen people who sat in the courtroom Thursday and watched Kent face San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge David Warner. Among them was her ex-husband, Tim Kent, who said he drives a pick-up truck with 300,000 miles on it while she just bought a new sport-utility vehicle — with specialty license plates — in late May.

"It's frustrating to be married to someone for 29 years and then have this happen," he said.

For Sullivan, another point of frustration is the amount of time it has taken to get the case this far.

Well over a year ago, Kent arranged a cruise for about 20 family members of a Lodi police sergeant's fiancee. Shortly before the cruise was to start, the family learned that no tickets had been purchased, though their credit cards were charged.

The sergeant's family members filed a police report, which the department turned over to the District Attorney's Office because Kent's son is a Lodi officer. County investigators have since said that Kent's son was not involved in any fraud and that he is also a victim.

Kent has been sued twice in civil court, and on Thursday a man followed her out of courtroom and served her papers for another lawsuit.

In December, district attorney's investigators served search warrants at Kent's Lodi home and business. The case was finally handed to a prosecutor — and then delayed again when he suffered a heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

Finally, Deputy District Attorney David Irey filed charges June 30 and sent Kent a letter to appear Thursday in court.

Kent arrived early, and Humphrey said she canceled a doctor's appointment to make the court date.

Prosecutors did not ask for bail, but Warner recognized Kent from a civil case relating to her travel agency and expressed concerns that she could still be acting as a travel agent. Humphrey told the judge that Kent's business has closed, but that apparently wasn't quite enough for the judge.

Warner ordered Kent "not to act as a travel agent in any capacity and not to accept any funds in relation to any type of travel plans."

Court documents did not list a dollar amount of theft and Irey did not return a message left Thursday. In charging documents, he accused Kent of four grand theft counts, each one involving "the unauthorized use of multiple individuals' credit cards totaling several thousand dollars." She also faces four counts each of obtaining money through false pretenses.

For Jeannette Fernandez, who had selected Kent's travel agency for the St. Mary's trip because they'd known each other for a decade, the court proceeding was both relieving and unsettling.

"It's kind of upsetting. I never thought she'd do this," she said after court.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.