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San Francisco Chinatown Travel Agent To Stand Trial For Fraud

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - A San Francisco woman was ordered to stand trial for accusations that she cheated customers out of money through her travel agency.

KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports:

The district attorney's office claims Xiao Yuan "Eileen" Cai, 56, ran an unlicensed travel agency, Golden Hill Travel, in Chinatown. Prosecutors allege that beginning in 2008, Cai defrauded customers by accepting money for airline tickets and other services then failing to provide the goods.

Cai is suspected of stealing over $150,000 from more than 100 customers who are almost all Chinese Americans, many over 65 years old.

On Tuesday, Judge Suzanne Bolanos held Cai for trial on charges of grand theft, failure to return funds and witness dissuasion. She faces 52 felony counts and two misdemeanors involving 112 victims. It took the judge half of an hour to read all of the charges out loud.

The judge ordered Cai to wear a GPS anklet until the trial ends.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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