An Ivorian national has been extradited from France to the United States to face charges in the Eastern District of Texas related to a $14 million fraud scheme targeting travel agencies

TYLER, Texas – A national of Côte d’Ivoire has been extradited to the United States to face charges in the Eastern District of Texas related to a $14 million fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Christian Marviv Ble, 39, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud; wire fraud; and unauthorized use of an access device.  Ble arrived in the United States from France on April 21, 2026, and is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

The three-count indictment alleges that Ble and his associates utilized an email phishing scheme to target victim travel agencies with deceptive emails. They sent emails claiming to be from the company that handles airline reservations for the travel agencies, stating there was a security update that required their login credentials.  The emails included links to fake websites that closely resembled the real reservation company’s login page. When the travel agency employees entered their information, their credentials were stolen. The group then used the stolen credentials to access the legitimate reservation system and book airline tickets, charging the costs to the travel agencies’ accounts. In total, the scheme caused about $14 million in losses to approximately 430 travel agencies.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.  Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Jackson. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs secured the arrest and extradition from France of Ble.

A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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