Investigations

Wonder how many pilots are out there,doing similar things.
 
The first thing is honest to Odin criminal activity. An amateur taking money claiming to be a pro is fraud. The second one had a guy fabricating a ferry tank in his own aircraft. Personally I don't think that rises to the same level.
 
pumping fuel with a 12 volt pump hooked to the cigarette lighter? What could go wrong?
 
"DEA agents observed a large marine fuel tank in the rear of the cabin, held in place with a ratchet strap. A clear hose connected the tank to the wing of the airplane. The exposed tubing was held in place with duct tape, and the transfer of fuel was to be powered by a 12-volt accessory plug from a pump to the plane’s cigarette lighter jack. "

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't see any problems there. :D What a dumb-a$$!!!
 
steingar said:
The first thing is honest to Odin criminal activity. An amateur taking money claiming to be a pro is fraud. The second one had a guy fabricating a ferry tank in his own aircraft. Personally I don't think that rises to the same level.
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Based solely on the press release, the charge against the second guy is the equivalent of nailing Al Capone for tax fraud. Couldn't get him on drug charges, so they got him for this. I strongly doubt the US Justice Dep’t would have taken a case like this otherwise.

Whether "prosecuting what you can" is right or wrong gets a lot of play in discussions, although I find most folks are result oriented rather than process oriented.
 
Former South Florida FAA Designated Airworthiness Representative Charged With Aircraft Parts Fraud
On January 25, 2018, Edward Carl Fernandez was charged via information in U.S. District Court, Miami, Florida, with fraud involving aircraft parts.

The information alleges that on or about February 19, 2013, Fernandez—knowingly and with intent to defraud—falsified and concealed a material fact concerning a hydraulic adapter fitting. Fernandez signed a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Form 8130-3, Authorized Release Certificate, Airworthiness Approval Tag, certifying the aircraft part had been properly manufactured and was approved for installation on a commercial aircraft. However, he neither conducted an inspection on nor had access to the aircraft part.

The investigation also revealed that Fernandez, acting in his capacity as an FAA-designated airworthiness representative, certified as airworthy numerous commercial aircraft parts via email without ever having direct access to or inspecting those parts.

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation with FAA’s assistance.

Note: Indictments, informations, and criminal complaints are only accusations by the Government. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
 
bnt83 said:
Former South Florida FAA Designated Airworthiness Representative Charged With Aircraft Parts Fraud
On January 25, 2018, Edward Carl Fernandez was charged via information in U.S. District Court, Miami, Florida, with fraud involving aircraft parts.

The information alleges that on or about February 19, 2013, Fernandez—knowingly and with intent to defraud—falsified and concealed a material fact concerning a hydraulic adapter fitting. Fernandez signed a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Form 8130-3, Authorized Release Certificate, Airworthiness Approval Tag, certifying the aircraft part had been properly manufactured and was approved for installation on a commercial aircraft. However, he neither conducted an inspection on nor had access to the aircraft part.

The investigation also revealed that Fernandez, acting in his capacity as an FAA-designated airworthiness representative, certified as airworthy numerous commercial aircraft parts via email without ever having direct access to or inspecting those parts.

DOT-OIG is conducting this investigation with FAA’s assistance.
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bnt83 said:
Note: Indictments, informations, and criminal complaints are only accusations by the Government. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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GUILTY https://www.oig.dot.gov/library-item/36347
 
lancie00 said:
"DEA agents observed a large marine fuel tank in the rear of the cabin, held in place with a ratchet strap. A clear hose connected the tank to the wing of the airplane. The exposed tubing was held in place with duct tape, and the transfer of fuel was to be powered by a 12-volt accessory plug from a pump to the plane’s cigarette lighter jack. "

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't see any problems there. :D What a dumb-a$$!!!
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It is dumb, but should that result in a criminal conviction? It's not even (very obviously) a permanent modification.
 
Yeah... they saved him from a much longer prison stay when he came back from Paraguay - if the fuel fumes inside the cabin did not kill him on the trip (by asphyxiation or detonation). Besides, an FAA-certificated airline transport pilot should really (really) know better. If he had spent a little money and made up a passable story, a mechanic would have helped him out and even filed all the paperwork. As it is, he got a year of probation for being a moron. It looks like he got to keep his ATP though (I did not see where it was revoked, and it said "Pilot", not "Former Pilot").
 
ironnerd said:
Yeah... they saved him from a much longer prison stay when he came back from Paraguay - if the fuel fumes inside the cabin did not kill him on the trip (by asphyxiation or detonation). Besides, an FAA-certificated airline transport pilot should really (really) know better. If he had spent a little money and made up a passable story, a mechanic would have helped him out and even filed all the paperwork. As it is, he got a year of probation for being a moron. It looks like he got to keep his ATP though (I did not see where it was revoked, and it said "Pilot", not "Former Pilot").
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Maybe true, but I wouldn't make that assumption.
 
If he didn't fly the plane, is it a crime to put removable items on the plane and not fly?? He didn't modify any of the airframe:)
 
Maybe it's just me.
#2 reads like stage dressing for a sixpapacharlie video.
And I'll bet cash money that it would have been hilarious.
 
midlifeflyer said:
Maybe true, but I wouldn't make that assumption.
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Yeah, I’m sure he was flying a Cessna 150, non stop to Paraguay, to visit his sick grandma.

If you’re going to do something that gets the attention of the feds because it’s exactly what a cocaine runner would do, you at least should make sure you’re keeping your plane and paperwork legal.
 
tawood said:
Yeah, I’m sure he was flying a Cessna 150, non stop to Paraguay, to visit his sick grandma.

If you’re going to do something that gets the attention of the feds because it’s exactly what a cocaine runner would do, you at least should make sure you’re keeping your plane and paperwork legal.
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LOL! I should've snipped or highlighted the post. Or you needed to read it better. The assumption I wouldn't make is

"It looks like he got to keep his ATP though (I did not see where it was revoked, and it said "Pilot", not "Former Pilot")."​
 
luvflyin said:
They shoulda just let the second guy go.
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Think the FAA charge was probably incidental icing on the cake, based on the other three letter agencies, guessing he's got much bigger problems than the FAA.
 
midlifeflyer said:
LOL! I should've snipped or highlighted the post. Or you needed to read it better. The assumption I wouldn't make is

"It looks like he got to keep his ATP though (I did not see where it was revoked, and it said "Pilot", not "Former Pilot")."​
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LOL ok, now I understand what you are saying!
 
Isosceles said:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/46306
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(c)Controlled Substance Criminal Penalty.—
controlled substance” has the same meaning given that term in section 102 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 802).
person violating subsection (b) of this section shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, if the violation is related to transporting a controlled substance by aircraft or aiding or facilitating a controlled substance violation and the transporting, aiding, or facilitating—


(A)
is punishable by death or imprisonment of more than one year under a law of the United States or a State; or United States or a State related to a controlled substance (except a law related to simple possession of a controlled substance).

(B)
that is provided is related to an act punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year under a law of the United States or a State related to a controlled substance (except a law related to simple possession of a controlled substance).
 
tawood said:
This one is interesting:
https://www.oig.dot.gov/library-item/32951
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".....Morgan’s Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft knowing that the Beechcraft Bonanza was worth nowhere near the $123,500 he had represented in email communications."

Having a bit of a problem with this. Every seller over-represents their airplane.

So that guy who said his plane was "Like New" and "Stunning" to me, and was obviously asking too much should got to jail?
 
Barneyfife said:
(c)Controlled Substance Criminal Penalty.—
controlled substance” has the same meaning given that term in section 102 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 802).
person violating subsection (b) of this section shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, if the violation is related to transporting a controlled substance by aircraft or aiding or facilitating a controlled substance violation and the transporting, aiding, or facilitating—


(A)
is punishable by death or imprisonment of more than one year under a law of the United States or a State; or United States or a State related to a controlled substance (except a law related to simple possession of a controlled substance).

(B)
that is provided is related to an act punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year under a law of the United States or a State related to a controlled substance (except a law related to simple possession of a controlled substance).
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What's your point? I seriously hope you don't think that reference to punishable by death is the punishment for a 49 U.S. Code § 46306 violation.
 
Isosceles said:
apparently only if he is also making false entries into the log books :)
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If that is the case, the complaint should only make note of the falsifications. Not an opinion about an issue that is not if importance.
 
Glad they caught the first one.

Second one is just expensive and useless War on Drugs horsecrap with nearly no return on the investment of massive debt.
 
Isosceles said:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdok/p...d-involving-trade-airplane-and-aircraft-parts

Hard to tell without looking at the actual paperwork, but I would guess that the "wire fraud" count is probably
his e-mail with false statements about the airplane maintenance rather than price or generic words like "perfect
condition".
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Good guess. Keep in mind when reading any of these (I get them almost daily), a criminal complaint or indictment is worded a little differently than a press release.
 
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