Twenty-three-year-old Jyvanni
Thibodeaux is suing her
former friend, 23-year-old
Mariah Johnson,
for the return of money
she paid for airline tickets
and punitive damages for fraud.
>> Judge Judy: Ms. Thibodeaux,
Ms. Johnson was somebody
that you knew as a friend?
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: And you wanted
to purchase some airline tickets
for you and who else?
>> Me, my mother
and my grandmother.
>> Judge Judy:
And you were going where?
>> To Miami.
>> Judge Judy:
And somehow you heard
Ms. Johnson had a connection
for cheap tickets?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: You were going
to Miami from where?
>> Dallas.
>> Judge Judy:
Did you price the tickets from
Miami to Dallas, round trip?
>> I did.
>> Judge Judy: And how much
were they per person?
>> About $2,000 for two tickets.
I was flying within a week
of my travel date...
Looking within a week
of my travel date.
>> Judge Judy: Why?
>> It was, like, a last-minute
thing.
I was getting ready to move
to Miami to go to school.
>> Judge Judy: How could it be
a last-minute thing
if you were going to school,
and what did you need your
mother and your grandmother for?
>> I hadn't yet been accepted
into the school.
>> Judge Judy: What?
>> I hadn't been accepted into
the school yet,
so I was just going.
School started in 3 weeks,
looking for housing and doing
some job interviews.
>> Judge Judy: Uh-huh.
And what did you need
your mother
and your grandmother there for?
>> My mother just wanted to make
sure that I was going
to find someplace that was...
>> Judge Judy: And what did you
need your grandmother for?
>> My mother wanted to bring her
along.
I have family in Miami.
>> Judge Judy: All right.
Terrific.
So the tickets were going to
cost $2,000 for everybody?
>> Just two of us.
>> Judge Judy: And who was going
to fly on the wing?
[ Laughter ]
>> What do you mean?
>> Judge Judy:
Well, you said three of you were
going and you only
priced tickets for two of you.
>> It was just me going
initially until I got
a hookup and my mother said,
"Oh, we'll go, too."
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
out that Ms. Johnson
knew somebody who could get
the tickets cheaper.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: Tell me
how that came about.
>> I was at her house
talking about how I needed
to get to Miami ASAP
to look for housing.
She's like, "Well, I got
a friend that works
for American Airlines.
He can get you
some cheap tickets."
>> Judge Judy: Did you ask who?
>> Not initially.
>> Judge Judy: Ever?
>> At the end, after I found out
that it was a scam.
>> Judge Judy: Who was
the person
who could get cheap tickets
who worked for the airlines?
>> It was somebody I went
to school with.
Well, we both went
to school with.
>> Judge Judy: Did you tell her
who it was?
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy: Name.
>> Ken...
>> Judge Judy: Has he been
arrested?
Did you file a police
complaint against him?
>> I did.
They told me it wasn't criminal
and
I wasn't the victim in the case.
>> Judge Judy: Which police
department did you tell that
you bought bogus tickets...
>> The De Soto Police
Department.
>> Judge Judy:
When did you go there,
and who did you speak to?
Do you remember?
>> No.
>> Judge Judy:
And you told them that you had
bought these tickets
and they turned out to be bogus
tickets?
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy: And you gave them
the name of the person
who you purchased it from?
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy:
You gave the De Soto Police
Department Ken's name.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy: Is that right?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy:
How do you reach Ken [bleep]?
>> I don't.
He blocked us both
because my mom bought tickets
as well for 1,500.
>> That's a lie.
>> I have proof.
>> Judge Judy:
I'd like to see it.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy: In any event,
Ms. Thibodeaux,
you gave Ms. Johnson money to
give to Ken.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy:
And she gave it to Ken...
>> Who knows?
>> Judge Judy: ...because
she gave you tickets.
>> She didn't give me anything.
He sent me confirmation numbers.
>> Judge Judy: He did?
Well, then he wouldn't have sent
you a confirmation number
unless he had been paid,
so I mean,
this wasn't a fictitious
character that she made up.
Right?
>> No.
I believe he's real.
>> Judge Judy: Well, of course
he's real.
You both knew him from school.
>> I don't know him.
>> Judge Judy: Never met him?
>> Never met him.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
But after you gave her the money
for the tickets,
you got confirmation
of the tickets from Ken.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: Which means
whatever money you gave her,
she gave to Ken,
who then sent you bogus tickets.
>> I wasn't there
when she gave him my money.
Who knows?
>> Judge Judy: I don't care.
>> I can't speculate
that she gave him the cash.
>> Judge Judy: Neither...
>> They were in on it together.
>> Judge Judy: Neither can I.
I can't speculate
that they were in it together.
You want me to believe
that they were in it together.
You went to use these tickets,
and you couldn't use the tickets
because they were bogus.
This person sent you tickets
or sent you facsimile to tickets
that you thought you could
use to get on your flights,
which you couldn't.
You want me to make that leap
between that and the fact
that they were in a coconspiracy
so that I order her
to give you back the money,
and I'm telling you,
you have to show me
that she was somehow
in a conspiracy
and stole your money.