FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: June 25, 2025
TO: MEDIA MEMBERS
FROM: Stephen M. Wagstaffe, District Attorney
SUBJECT: Attorney General Bonta, San Mateo District Attorney Wagstaffe Secure Settlement, Full Refunds for Hundreds of California Travelers
Seller of Travel failed to offer refunds for trips cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe today announced a settlement with Nawas International Travel Service (Nawas), a California travel agency focusing on religious travel, for failing to provide full refunds to consumers whose trips were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The settlement today, pending court approval, includes at least $567,138 in full restitution of cancellation fees to affected California travelers, $560,000 in civil penalties under the California’s Unfair Competition Law and Seller of Travel Act, and strong injunctive terms that prohibit Nawas from imposing cancellation fees that violate California law.
“We are proud to announce that today, in partnership with the San Mateo District Attorney, we’ve secured full refunds for hundreds of Californians that were harmed by the illegal practices of Nawas International Travel Service. Travel agents operating in California must comply with California’s strong consumer protection laws, this includes providing timely refunds for cancelled travel,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Today's settlement provides important restitution for those harmed by Nawas's attempt to disregard California law and a reminder to the travel industry that all California sellers of travel need to play by the rules."
“California law provides protections for consumers when purchasing travel from Sellers of Travel. My office was pleased to work with the Attorney General’s Office in this case to ensure these laws were enforced,” said District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe.
Nawas is a seller and provider of tours to religious sites around the world, including sites in the Middle East and Europe. Nawas markets its tours largely through clergy and many of Nawas’s travelers are senior citizens. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nawas cancelled hundreds of international tours. After the cancellation, rather than refunding the full amount of the travelers’ deposits and tour payments, Nawas unlawfully withheld “cancellation fees” of between $200 and $1150 per traveler. In all, Nawas withheld approximately $560,000 in what they termed cancellation fees from approximately 600 California travelers. Nawas’s withholding of those funds violated the California Seller of Travel Act, which requires sellers of travel to provide full refunds for any travel that they are unable to provide, with certain limited exceptions that do not apply here. Although Nawas claimed to travelers that it was allowed to withhold cancellation fees under its own terms and conditions, the Seller of Travel Act expressly prohibits this where, as here, the seller of travel is unable to provide the purchased travel.
The Attorney General’s Office operates the Seller of Travel Program, which registers travel agents and certain other travel businesses operating in California. The attorney general and district attorneys can bring enforcement actions against sellers of travel for violations of the law. We encourage any resident of San Mateo County who believes they have been wronged by a seller of travel to file a complaint with the Seller of Travel Program at www.oag.ca.gov/report. Consumers in San Mateo County may also file a complaint with the District Attorney’s Office at https://www.smcgov.org/da/consumer-and-environmental-protection.
The settlement is pending court approval.
Please direct any questions to Deputy District Attorney Joel McComb,
(650) 363-4936 or jmccomb@smcgov.org.