A travel agent allegedly defrauded customers

A travel agent accused of scamming 16 customers and leaving them hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket has been charged with making several allegedly fraudulent reservations.

Officers from St George Police Command in Sydney's south have established Strike Force Bail to investigate reports a travel agent was failing to honour bookings made by customers.

New South Wales police on Monday released footage of the moment Zahra Rachid was arrested.

Ms Rachid, who ran Travel World Sydney in Arncliffe, is accused of canceling bookings made by customers without their knowledge.

She did not make any refunds, New South Wales police said.

The 53-year-old man was arrested at a unit complex on Mashman Ave, Kingsgrove, on June 14.

She was taken to Kogarah police station and charged with 16 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.

The investigation was opened by police after the alleged fraudulent behaviour was reported by several people.

Among the alleged victims is a woman named Nicole Vris, who told Channel 9's A Current Affair that she used the travel agent to book a trip to Greece with 34 family members.

“It's very difficult to get everyone together to go on vacation at the same time, it's so difficult,” Ms Vris told the ACA.

Ms Vris only realized there was no booking when she went to check her flights with the airline and realized she had no booking confirmation.

The family reportedly lost $160,000 as some family members had to find the money to pay for further flights to Greece.

Other members choose not to participate in the trip because they cannot afford to pay twice, Ms Vris said.

Ms Rachid was refused bail when she was arrested by police. She appeared in Sutherland Local Court the same day, where she was granted strict conditional bail.

She will appear in court again on July 1.

Investigations by Strike Force Baile continue.