Travel Agent Booked For 4-10 Years In Prison

PONTIAC (WWJ) - An Oakland County travel agent who pleaded no contest to defrauding her customers out of tens of thousands of dollars is headed to prison for four to 10 years.

It was standing room only in Oakland County Circuit Court Wednesday as 50-year-old Penny Kane apologized before her sentencing on 10 counts of larceny.

Judge Rudy Nichols said Kane "had shattered people's dreams and broken their trust," after she failed to deliver on vacations and to exotic locations but had never refunded any money.

Connie Piacentini, a teacher in Waterford, had booked a trip with "Penny's Personal Travel" as a special treat for her son, who is entering his senior year in high school.

She said she lost not only $2,600 but also a sense of trust.

You would think if it comes through work ... it would be legitimate, but it wasn't," Piacentini said. "I got taken."

Waterford resident Diane Sands booked a trip with Kane in 2011.

"I booked it to go to Hawaii in March of 2012, but then was diagnosed with cancer," Sands said. "[I] tried to get a refund, but she would not. But she would re-book me later, and that was gonna be my celebration trip after my chemo ... which never came about, unfortunately."

Along with her jail time, Kane has been ordered to pay $370,000 in restitution.