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Two days after national headlines reported JetBlue placed an unaccompanied 5-year-old boy on the wrong plane home, the boy’s mother told The New York Daily News that the airline tried to pay her off with a $10,000 “gift.”

Maribel Martinez and her son, Andy, vacationed in the Dominican Republic in August. She returned to New York, while Andy remained with family for an additional week.

She paid JetBlue a fee to safely place Andy on a flight to John F. Kennedy Airport. But on Aug. 17, the airline’s employees mixed up Andy with another child, and sent Martinez’s son to Boston instead of New York.

JetBlue delivered the wrong child to Martinez, who feared for Andy’s safety. Hours later, the airline figured out what happened.

The News, which broke the story, said JetBlue did not apologize. Instead, they refunded Martinez her $475 ticket and gave her a $2,100 credit for future flights.

In an apparent maneuver to prevent a possible lawsuit, Martinez told The News that she received a phone call from a JetBlue representative named Joanne, who had a special offer.

“She (Joanne) apologized for what happened and said she was a mother, too, and felt bad about what happened. They wanted to give me a gift of $10,000 for what happened,” Martinez, who only speaks Spanish, told The News through a translator.

Martinez said she ended the conversation when she heard the word “gift,” and told the representative to talk to her lawyer.

High-profile attorney Sanford Rubenstein, who represents Martinez, told The News that JetBlue’s alleged scheme is “unethical.” He believes the airline is attempting to avoid paying damages to Martinez. Rubenstein sent a letter to JetBlue’s general counsel Joanna Geraghty, demanding the airline stop contacting his client.

The News said JetBlue declined to comment on the situation.

SOURCE: New York Daily News | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter

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JetBlue Accused Of Attempting To Pay Off Mother Of Boy It Misplaced  was originally published on newsone.com