USAO, Southern District of Florida - Press Release

Summary

On April 5, 2012, in U.S. District Court, Miami, Florida, Henry McFlicker and Ayodha "Joe" Persaud, owners of Daytona Aerospace, a South Florida aviation parts broker were sentenced for conspiracy to commit aircraft parts fraud.  McFlicker was sentenced to 45 months in prison while Persaud was ordered to serve 37 months incarceration. Mr. McFlicker and Mr. Persaud will each serve a term of 36 months probation, as well as pay a $100 special assessment fee. The court also ordered the owners to pay $1.45 million in restitution and ordered a $1 million forfeiture. 

Our investigation revealed that Daytona Aerospace purchased, sold, and traded aircraft parts between commercial airlines, private aircraft, other brokers, and the U.S. Department of Defense, and specifically that Mr. McFlicker and Mr. Persaud misrepresented the condition and origin of aircraft parts in their responses to numerous bids advertised by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy.  Although the orders and contracts specifically required the defendants to supply new surplus parts manufactured by The Boeing Company, they used various unauthorized local dealers to manufacture the requested parts.  Mr. McFlicker and Mr. Persaud, in concert with their employees, concealed the fraud by completing a Certificate of Conformance, also known as a "Parts or Material Certification Form" or an "ATA 106," and other paperwork, such as packing slips and invoices, that misrepresented either the condition of the parts or the manufacturer.  Additionally, to further conceal the fraud, Mr. McFlicker and Mr. Persaud created fraudulent inventory lists, certification forms, and letters bearing various airlines' corporate logos and attached these false forms to shipments containing the parts.  They then forwarded the completed fraudulent paperwork, including the ATA 106 and other traceability documentation, and the counterfeit parts to the purchasers, including the Air Force and others in the commercial and military aviation industry.  

This investigation is being conducted jointly with Defense Criminal Investigative Service, USAF Office of Special Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security/US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with the Federal Aviation Administration providing technical assistance.