PALM COAST, Fla. — An American Airlines flight attendant was taken into custody after law enforcement authorities tied her to a sweepstakes scheme targeting a 75-year-old Palm Coast resident.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested 24-year-old Destiny Blake of Brooklyn, N.Y., Friday at Miami International Airport after she arrived on an international flight, acting on an arrest warrant from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said Blake used her flight attendant travel privileges to fly to Florida and visit the victim’s home as part of the scam. In total, the victim lost approximately $25,310 through gift card payments, cash withdrawals, Zelle transfers and credit card charges, according to a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The fraudulent scheme began in November 2025 when a telephone caller posing as a Publishers Clearing House representative informed the victim that she had won a prize, the news release states. The caller instructed the victim to send a $500 gift card to Blake at an address in Brooklyn to claim the money. During that period, the victim also lost access to her personal email account after the password was changed and messages were redirected to an unauthorized address, the news release states.
Between Nov. 15 and Nov. 19, 2025, the victim withdrew more than $14,000 from her bank. Investigators determined that Blake received $14,220 through cash withdrawals and Zelle transfers.
On Nov. 18, 2025, Blake used her employee travel privileges to fly standby from New York to Daytona Beach, taking an Uber to a lodging facility on State Road 100 in Palm Coast. Shortly before 11 a.m. the following morning, an Uber dropped Blake off at the victim’s home, the news release states. She left 15 minutes later in another Uber that returned her to the Daytona Beach airport.
Before departing, charges were made on the victim’s credit card at airports in Daytona Beach and Charlotte. Investigators found that Blake had set up an Apple Card as an authorized user on the victim’s account. A relative later discovered a note in the victim’s house with instructions to contact the card issuer and claim Blake was her granddaughter with permission to use the card, the news release states.
From Nov. 16 to Dec. 11, 2025, 88 transactions totaling $10,590.30 were made using the victim’s credit cards. The charges included a $1,740.91 eBay purchase delivered to Blake’s home in Brooklyn, $1,523.16 for Apple merchandise and more than $1,300 spent at T-Mobile, Ugg, a Brooklyn beauty salon and Uber services. One Uber trip in Kingston was paid in Jamaican dollars two days after Blake flew there while working for American Airlines. Surveillance video showed Blake using the card at a supermarket in Queens and phone records placed her device near the stores on the transaction dates, the news release states.
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