Posted on: Tuesday, June 25, 2002

Travel agency, owner targeted

West Virginia Attorney General Darrell V. McGraw Jr. filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to shut down a travel agency that allegedly stranded travelers who had purchased Hawai'i vacations.

McGraw asked the Kana-wha County Circuit Court to stop Mitzi's Travel of Clarksburg from doing business in West Virginia and to force owner Mitzi Layne Tichenor to repay customers.

McGraw said his office has received about 100 phone calls from customers who reported paying for Hawai'i vacations in advance only to find out that their tickets or lodging were not available when it was time to take the trip. Some said they were stranded at Pittsburgh International Airport, while others made it to Hawai'i but had no lodging.