Tucson, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich Tuesday announced a $451,000 judgment against a Texas-based travel company, EB Worldwide, LLC, and its CEO, George Barragan. The Arizona Attorney General filed a consumer fraud lawsuit back in July after receiving complaints EB Worldwide, operating under the name “Senior Grad Trips,” had accepted thousands of dollars in payments from Arizona consumers for a group vacation that was canceled without notice or refund.
In its lawsuit, the Attorney General’s Office alleged EB Worldwide and Barragan collected $40,000 from Cienega High School students and chaperones for a Disneyland senior class trip. Barragan and EB Worldwide never provided transportation to Disneyland as promised and then refused to refund consumers who paid in advance. Parents of students were not notified of the cancellation until after the scheduled departure date, and dozens of students were left stranded in the Cienega High School parking lot well into the night, waiting for a tour bus that never arrived.
On Wednesday, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office obtained a default judgment against EB Worldwide and George Barragan after they refused to respond to the State’s lawsuit. The judgment awards $40,000 in restitution to consumers who paid for the Cienega High School trip, a combined total of $400,000 in civil penalties against EB Worldwide and Barragan, and approximately $11,000 in attorney fees to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The judgment also bans EB Worldwide and Barragan from selling, advertising, or otherwise marketing any vacation packages or group vacations in Arizona. The Attorney General’s Office will seek to collect on the judgment.
“Scams of this magnitude are particularly despicable,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Consumers who are looking forward to a vacation can be highly susceptible to deceptive business practices because they may not know what signs to look for or what questions to ask.”
This case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Mitchell Allee.