Former employee accused of stealing from Utah airline, then faking death

SALT LAKE CITY — A former employee of Utah-based Breeze Airways who allegedly stole from the company and then tried to fake his death is now being charged.

Felix Odiott Beltran, 39, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with theft by deception, a second-degree felony; and attempted theft by deception, a third-degree felony.

According to charging documents, Beltran was placed on unpaid suspension in early December "due to misconduct."

"While Beltran was suspended, he was still able to log into the company payroll system. During the suspension, Beltran added 196 work hours which came out to $6,808.85 in pay that was direct deposited to Beltran," the charges state.

Beltran was fired on Dec. 29.

"That same day, Beltran again accessed the payroll system and entered another 196 hours. The company caught this before another $6,808.85 was direct deposited to Beltran," according to the charges.

Breeze Airways sent a "demand letter" to Beltran in January but received a reply claiming that Beltran had died by suicide, the charges state.

In July, however, Salt Lake City police spoke to one of Beltran's relatives "who stated that Beltran was alive and had recently moved to Florida," according to court documents.