Aerolíneas Argentinas scam: the prosecutor asked to investigate 53 other defendants for trips linked to the miles of the main defendant

The request was presented within the framework of case CFP 5738/2025, titled “Veltri, Juan Ignacio and others regarding fraud through computer manipulation.” It targets a group of people who, according to the prosecutionappear linked to irregular operations carried out within the Aerolíneas Plus loyalty program. Marijuán requested that an investigative statement be taken from them under the terms of article 294 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

According to the judicial document, to which he had access Clarionthe investigation originated from a complaint promoted by the Specialized Cybercrime Fiscal Unit (UFECI), after a presentation made by Aerolíneas Argentinas. The company reported a “systematic manipulation maneuver” on the mileage purchase system, which would have operated between December 2023 and January 2025 by altering computer parameters to acquire miles at values ​​well below the official ones.

According to the prosecution’s hypothesis, Juan Ignacio Veltri altered the source code of the website Airlines Plus and modified the value of the miles. Instead of being rejected, the request was subject to “manual review”, they contacted you and the transaction was approved, in a serious mistake on the part of security of the Aerolíneas Argentinas mileage system.

Until now, the main person targeted in the case was only Veltri, a former employee of Free market and the Argentine cybersecurity company Strikewho has already been investigated and processed with preventive detention in a police station, and who could go to a prison if your defense request is not accepted of the benefit of house arrest.

One of the most relevant data in the file is the economic dimension of the maneuver. According to the prosecution, the entire operation would have allowed the fraudulent purchase of 44,414,400 miles, with an estimated loss of $1,320,479.10 for Aerolíneas Argentinas. Within this total, Veltri appears as the main beneficiary, with 16,595,000 miles acquired irregularly and damage calculated in $493,800.

The hypothesis of the case is that Veltri exploited a vulnerability that allowed the parameters of the quantity or price of miles to be intercepted and modified at the time the information was traveling from the website to the server, without the system revalidating the original value.

According to testimonies incorporated into the case, both from the Airlines Information Security management and from Valtech, the company that developed the software, it was a maneuver that required “advanced technical knowledge or the use of “an instruction manual prepared by someone with that level of expertise.”

Furthermore, the document maintains that direct links emerged between Veltri and several of the new defendants from the cross-referencing of airline data, open sources, social networks, immigration registries and bases such as NOSIS, including the shared use of credit cards to buy miles, issue tickets or transfer benefits between accounts.

For Marijuán, the evidence collected so far is enough to investigate the 53 new suspects. In his opinion, he states that each one appears as the owner of an Aerolíneas Plus account from which mileage purchases were made at manipulated values, with subsequent issuance of tickets to national and international destinations.

The conduct, he maintains, would preliminarily fall within the crime of fraud through computer manipulation to the detriment of the public administration.

Veltri could face, if the case progresses, up to six years in prison. However, in a first conviction scenario, it would most likely be that the sentence would be suspended if it was less than three years, as allowed by article 26 of the Penal Code. The case even has another possible path, which would be resolved through a suspension of the trial on probation: there would be no effective sentence, but the accused would have to comply with rules of conduct for a certain period, perform community tasks and offer some form of financial reparation. They may also ask you to pay back some of the money.

Meanwhile, the accused waits for house arrest to be granted so he can return home and leave the police station where he is detained. If it is not approved, the Court must define in which prison he will continue to be detained.