A Spirit Airlines worker cut hundreds of deals in a flight-changing scheme. Now she has to pay back the airline and go to prison.

A Philadelphia-based former Spirit Airlines employee will spend time in a federal detention center for her role in a ticket-changing scheme that cost the airline nearly $265,000.

Taylor Thompson pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud, and was sentenced Thursday to two months of incarceration followed by eight months of home confinement. She must also pay restitution to the airline.

Thompson was hired as a customer service supervisor in May 2017, court documents say. In December 2017, she began using her booking system passcode to change flights for certain passengers while waiving the fees associated with the change.

In these instances, court records say, Thompson would first book cheap, short flights for friends and family. She would then reroute the flight to a farther destination, using her passcode to waive the increased cost for the passenger.

“Admittedly, she then began charging a fee — usually $50-$100 at a time — to rebook such flights for other individuals, resulting in a total loss of $88,229.65 over a seven-month period to Spirit Airlines,” a document filed by Thompson’s lawyer said.

The commission payments to Thompson totaled over $20,500, federal prosecutors said, from 562 modified flight reservations.

Other Spirit employees began using Thompson’s passcode to make free changes to flight itineraries for passengers.

Thompson was fired in July 2018, unrelated to the flight changes, “for lack of professionalism after she became involved in a heated exchange with another supervisor.” After Thompson’s firing, the customer service agents recruited another supervisor, Sabrina Lebron, whose credentials they could use to change flights.

The scheme was discovered in late August 2018, and by that time the group of five employees had modified over 1,600 flight reservations, with a total loss to Spirit of nearly $265,000.

Lebron, as well as customer service agents Karima Worthem, Tiana Fairfax, and Theodore Robinson were also charged. Robinson made $7,500 from the scheme, and was ultimately sentenced to three years’ probation including six months in home detention, while Fairfax, who made more than $40,000, was sentenced to six months’ incarceration. Sentencing hearings for Worthem and Lebron are scheduled in March.

Thompson faced a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment per charge, for a total of 60 years, in addition to paying restitution in the amount of losses she had directly caused for Spirit.

Thompson’s lawyers argued that she should not be incarcerated, noting that other participants in the scheme had caused greater losses to Spirit. Over a dozen family members and friends attended the sentencing hearing in support of Thompson.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rice requested “a brief period of incarceration” for Thompson, arguing that she would have created greater losses for the airline had she not been fired.

Lawyers argued over whether Thompson’s sentence should take into account that she was in a supervisory role, with prosecutors arguing that Thompson had “unfettered discretion” to change flights. Thompson’s lawyer argued that despite her title, Thompson was near the bottom of Spirit’s hierarchy.

U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone sided with Thompson on that particular issue because Thompson’s direct supervisor “could easily detect the illicit use” of flight changes had she reviewed Thompson’s activity. Still, the judge said that she was “baffled” by Thompson’s actions and that the sentence would be a deterrent to others in a position to “abuse” their employment.

“This was not a crime of opportunity,” Beetlestone said. “You initiated the scheme, you recruited others to participate.”