Disney Von Drake
03-21-2008, 08:15 PM
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A suspect was named Friday by police after dozens of Disney guests were ripped off in their own hotel rooms. The accused scam artist is a former Disney employee who was allegedly stealing credit card numbers by stalking and sweet-talking park guests.
It isn't the first time 23-year-old Jason MacLaren has been caught doing the same thing. This time, investigators say he conned 45 victims out of $30,000, but he was caught two years ago doing the same thing at Disney and then disappeared.
Orange County detectives said, when the same thing started happening again, it didn't take them long to focus on MacLaren.
St. Petersburg area tourist Linda Clark thought it was her 'year of a million dreams' when a nice man with a professional demeanor called her Polynesian Resort hotel room last month and offered her deeply discounted tickets for the "Hoop Te Do Revue."
"I thought, gee, we hit the mother lode," she said.
Friday, Orange County detectives said 23-year-old con man Jason MacLaren was calling her. They say MacLaren gave guests the impression he was a Disney employee, because he profiled them and their room numbers.
"He was able to identify the make up of a party, a wife, husband and two kids, and he'd use that to his benefit on the phone. 'We have you down for a reservation for you, your husband and two kids,'" explained Detective Bryan Villella, Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators said they have surveillance video of MacLaren calling guests from the house phones of the Polynesian Resort, Pop Century, Wilderness Lodge and three others, each time duping guests into buying what they thought were discounted dinners or show tickets using their credit cards.
But the guests weren't actually buying anything, as Linda Clark soon found out. Detectives said, instead, MacLaren he used their credit card numbers to buy attraction and even circus tickets and then turned around and sold them for cash at deep discount prices to other tourists.
Sometimes he kept some of tickets for himself.
"He likes Disney. He's gone since he was a kid. It's just a place he likes to go," Villella said.
Detectives said MacLaren was arrested in Brevard County after he was stopped for a traffic violation. They said he is cooperating with them.
Disney has made good on the tickets that its guests were duped into buying and posted warnings in the rooms for the guests not to give out their credit card numbers.
http://www.wftv.com/news/15668084/detail.html
It isn't the first time 23-year-old Jason MacLaren has been caught doing the same thing. This time, investigators say he conned 45 victims out of $30,000, but he was caught two years ago doing the same thing at Disney and then disappeared.
Orange County detectives said, when the same thing started happening again, it didn't take them long to focus on MacLaren.
St. Petersburg area tourist Linda Clark thought it was her 'year of a million dreams' when a nice man with a professional demeanor called her Polynesian Resort hotel room last month and offered her deeply discounted tickets for the "Hoop Te Do Revue."
"I thought, gee, we hit the mother lode," she said.
Friday, Orange County detectives said 23-year-old con man Jason MacLaren was calling her. They say MacLaren gave guests the impression he was a Disney employee, because he profiled them and their room numbers.
"He was able to identify the make up of a party, a wife, husband and two kids, and he'd use that to his benefit on the phone. 'We have you down for a reservation for you, your husband and two kids,'" explained Detective Bryan Villella, Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators said they have surveillance video of MacLaren calling guests from the house phones of the Polynesian Resort, Pop Century, Wilderness Lodge and three others, each time duping guests into buying what they thought were discounted dinners or show tickets using their credit cards.
But the guests weren't actually buying anything, as Linda Clark soon found out. Detectives said, instead, MacLaren he used their credit card numbers to buy attraction and even circus tickets and then turned around and sold them for cash at deep discount prices to other tourists.
Sometimes he kept some of tickets for himself.
"He likes Disney. He's gone since he was a kid. It's just a place he likes to go," Villella said.
Detectives said MacLaren was arrested in Brevard County after he was stopped for a traffic violation. They said he is cooperating with them.
Disney has made good on the tickets that its guests were duped into buying and posted warnings in the rooms for the guests not to give out their credit card numbers.
http://www.wftv.com/news/15668084/detail.html