All_Day (9tifa founder)

An American Airlines flight attendant who used her travel benefits to fly to a 75-year-old Palm Coast woman’s home as part of a sweepstakes scam is in custody after a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office investigation led to her arrest in Miami. Late Friday evening, U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested Destiny Blake, 24, of Brooklyn, New York, on a Flagler County warrant as she arrived at Miami International Airport on an international flight. The scam started in November 2025 with a phone call. The caller, who claimed to be with Publishers Clearing House, told the victim she had won. To collect her “winnings,” the victim was instructed to mail a $500 gift card to “Destiny Blake” at a Brooklyn address, which she did. During this time, the victim was also locked out of her own email account. The password had been changed and the account switched to look-a-like address she never created. Between Nov. 15 and Nov. 19, 2025, the victim withdrew more than $14,000 from her bank. Blake received $14,220 in cash and Zelle payments. On Nov. 18, Blake flew from New York to Daytona Beach as a standby passenger using her flight attendant benefits and then took an Uber to a hotel on State Road 100 in Palm Coast. The next morning, an Uber dropped Blake off at the victim’s home just before 11 a.m. Fifteen minutes later, another Uber picked her up and took her back to the Daytona Beach airport. Before she flew home, purchases were made on the victim’s credit card at the Daytona Beach and Charlotte airports. Detectives determined Blake had been issued her own Apple Card as an authorized user on the victim’s account. A family member later found a note in the victim’s home with instructions to call the card company and tell them Blake was her granddaughter and was authorized to use the card. Between Nov. 16 and Dec. 11, 2025, 88 charges totaling $10,590.30 were charged to the victim’s credit cards. They included a $1,740.91 eBay order shipped to Blake’s Brooklyn address, $1,523.16 spent on Apple products and more than $1,300 spent at T-Mobile, Ugg, a Brooklyn hair salon, and dozens of Uber rides and Uber Eats orders. One Uber ride was paid in Jamaican dollars in Kingston, two days after Blake flew there while working for American Airlines. The online orders were done using Blake’s own name, email address and phone number. Detectives obtained surveillance video of Blake using the victim’s card at a Queens supermarket. Detectives also determined that Blake’s phone was in the area of the stores on the dates of the transactions. In total, the victim lost approximately $25,310. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Blake on Oct. 13, 2026 for the thefts and fraudulent charges. “Most flight attendants use their benefits to see the world. Blake used her’s to further a scam against a senior resident, live a lavish lifestyle using stolen bank cards and thinking she could get away with it,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “Her wings were clipped by our detectives and with the help of CPB she was arrested. Her next trip? Flagler County to be held accountable for her crimes.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested Blake for organized scheme to defraud over $20,000 from a victim 65 or older, fraudulent use of personal identification information of a person 60 or older, and grand theft over $20,000. She was transported to the Miami-Dade County jail, where she was later released on a $30,000 bond. Families caring for an older adult can shut off many of the ways scammers reach them and take over their accounts. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has posted step-by-step instructions to safeguard your loved one’s phones, email, computers and bank accounts at flaglersheriff.com/senior-sa…. Suspected financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult can also be reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE (1-800-962-2873), 24 hours a day, or to the U.S. Department of Justice National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). Anyone who believes they were targeted in a similar scam or had financial contact with Blake is encouraged to contact the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office at 386-313-4911.