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Travel agent pleads guilty in fraud case By Chris Bristol A former Ashland travel agent who once boasted that she ran one of the top "specialty lodging" businesses in the country pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal fraud charge. In a deal with prosecutors, Katherine D. Driskell agreed to pay restitution of nearly $246,000 to settle allegations of widespread billing fraud involving nearly 100 customers of her now-defunct business, Europa-Let Tropical Inn-Let. Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan, visiting Medford from Eugene, accepted the plea and set sentencing for Oct. 5. Depending on her record, Driskell faces up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Driskell, 39, bought Europa-Let in 1994 when it was still an early leader in the burgeoning "specialty lodging" industry. The company booked alternatives to traditional hotel-style lodging in Europe and the Caribbean, ranging from quaint country cottages and cheap London flats to exotic Greek villas and romantic French chateaus. She closed shop last summer after Ashland police cited her for aggravated first-degree theft. Because many of her customers were from out of state, the FBI and the Secret Service quickly took over the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Thomson said investigators eventually identified between 85 and 100 victims, many of whom complained they were double-billed for lodging or charged for accommodations they never received and in some cases never even asked for. Driskell also was accused of failing to return security deposits and writing bad checks for payments of debts and wages. Thomson said investigators were unable to determine precisely what Driskell did with the money, ruling out various motives such as a gambling addiction. "She said she frittered this money away on trips, eating out � that sort of thing," Thomson said. "We haven�t found any evidence to contradict that." Under terms of the deal, Driskell agreed to sign over interest in her Jacksonville home, along with her husband�s retirement account. The bulk of the restitution � $166,769.33 � is owed to Klamath First Federal bank. "They made good on the bad credit card charges," Thomson said. "They�re the ones who are out the most." Thomson said he charged Driskell with only one count of fraud because federal sentencing guidelines are based on the total damages, not the number of offenses. The cutoff is $250,000. Driskell left court without comment, accompanied by her lawyer, Angie LaNier. Several of her former employees attended the hearing. One, who refused to give her name because she�s still trying to find a job, said Driskell�s motive remains a mystery, given the extent of the fraud. "We�ve all wondered what Kathy was thinking and planning," she said. Also in federal court Thursday, a Grants Pass man was sentenced to four months in jail for making a bomb threat at the Medford airport. Danny Dean Gairson, 51, admitted that he left an anonymous note at the airport�s information desk May 21, 1999, falsely claiming a bomb was in the cargo hold of a jetliner. Gairson used to work for a courier service that did business at the airport. In a statement to the court, he said the threat was "a cry for help." But Hogan was not sympathetic, refusing to reduce the standard sentence as proscribed by federal guidelines. Hogan also fined Gairson $4,800. Said the judge: "This is not the way to express yourself." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA