An Atlanta travel agent has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for defrauding clients, including individuals and educational institutions, by taking payments for travel services that were never provided.
Court documents state that Maurice Eugene Smith, 45, operated EUGENE TORIKO LLC, a luxury travel company offering customized planning. From September 2022 through November 2024, Smith accepted payments from customers for bookings but used the funds for personal expenses rather than securing reservations.
Smith’s clients paid thousands of dollars for vacations to destinations such as St. Lucia, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Guatemala. Instead of using these funds as promised, Smith diverted money to refund earlier customers or spent it on himself—including sports betting and his own trips to Mexico and Panama.
Many customers only discovered their accommodations had not been paid when they were about to depart or after arriving at their destinations. They were forced to cover costs themselves; some later received reimbursements from credit card companies or travel insurance providers.
The fraud also affected two university sports programs and a college. A university baseball team paid Smith for airline tickets but ultimately had to use bus transportation because no flights were booked with the funds provided. In another case, a college arranged a trip to Thailand for faculty and students; only one-way tickets were purchased by EUGENE TORIKO. Faculty and parents had to pay out-of-pocket for return flights before being reimbursed by the college.
A third-party sports event marketing company arranged travel for a university men’s basketball team’s trip to the Bahamas. The university foundation wired $55,914.60 to this company on April 17, 2024; two days later Smith invoiced $40,800 for supposed arrangements. Further invoices brought total payments from the company—using university foundation funds—to $109,756.07 between May and June 2024. Additional family members and supporters also paid fees to accompany the team.
Despite reserving seats on flights from Virginia to the Bahamas and booking hotel rooms, Smith did not make any legitimate payments toward these costs. As a result, both airline tickets and resort reservations were canceled while he used some of the money for personal purposes or refunds owed elsewhere.
“Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Reid Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles.”
“Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Rumbaugh and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Hood prosecuted the case.”
Further details about this case can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Court documents are available via PACER under Case No. 1:25-cr-73.
