Southampton man arrested for allegedly canceling ex-partner’s Aruba trip, police say

A Moriches man arrived at JFK International Airport ready to fly to Aruba, only to learn his vacation had already been canceled about three hours before departure, Suffolk County police said.

Investigators with the department’s Financial Crimes Unit later concluded the cancellation was no mistake. Police said Ronald Fisher, 42, of 41 Hilltop Road in Southampton, contacted the travel agency by phone and falsely identified himself as the victim, using personal information tied to the man’s trip to shut it down.

The alleged scheme cost the victim $4,202, according to police. Fisher turned himself in at the Seventh Precinct and was charged with identity theft in the first degree. Arraignment was scheduled for the First District Court in Central Islip.

Under New York State Penal Law, first-degree identity theft covers knowingly assuming another person’s identity with intent to defraud and obtaining goods, money, property or services worth more than $2,000. It is a class D felony, a charge that reflects how a dispute rooted in personal information can quickly become a significant financial crime.

Suffolk County police said identity theft is often carried out by people already known to the victim, including through misuse of personal identifiers by family members or friends. In this case, the alleged victim was not robbed of cash at a store or through a stolen wallet. Instead, police say the harm came through a travel agency call that left a canceled vacation, a stranded traveler and thousands of dollars in losses.

The arrest, announced May 7, 2026, highlights how ordinary systems can be turned against Suffolk residents when personal data falls into the wrong hands. A routine booking, a phone call and an airport check-in counter were enough, police say, to turn a planned trip into a criminal case that now moves into court in Central Islip.