Operator of aircraft supply businesses sentenced to 11 years in prison for $7M fraud

According to court documents and statements made in court, Wine owned and operated various companies engaged in the business of commercial aircraft supply, including JetPro International, LLC ("JetPro"), Nexus Aviation, and Turbotech Partners. From at least 2018 through 2021, Wine defrauded investors in aircraft-related transactions. Wine used victims' money to purchase aircraft airframes and engines, sold the aircraft airframes and engines, hid the resulting profits from his investors, and diverted invested funds for his personal use.

As part of the scheme, Wine induced an investment firm based in Darien, Connecticut, to invest $4.5 million in the purported acquisition and sale of an Airbus A320-231 airframe and two aircraft engines. Wine sent fictitious correspondence to the victim investor and created fake domain names and email accounts.

He then used those email accounts to send fraudulent correspondence to the victim investor to trick the investor into believing that JetPro was attempting to sell the Airbus airframe and the two aircraft engines to certain buyers. In fact, Wine had already sold one engine for $2.45 million and the Airbus airframe for $1.3 million. He never informed the victim investor of those sales and shared none of the proceeds of the sales with the investor. Wine also used some of these invested funds to purchase another aircraft engine without the knowledge of the victim investor.

In total, Wine's fraud scheme caused $7,152,666.67 in losses to 13 separate victims.

Judge Williams will issue a restitution order after additional court proceedings. Wine's restitution obligation will be reduced to reflect money recouped through the sale of any asset that was part of his fraud scheme.

On July 19, 2022, Wine pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. In November 2022, while he was released on bond pending sentencing, Wine created and submitted counterfeit bank statements in an attempt to obtain a loan to purchase a Cadillac Escalade from a Kansas auto dealership. He has been detained since December 20, 2022, when his bond was revoked.

This is Wine's second federal conviction. In 2010, Wine pleaded guilty in the Western District of Missouri to fraud and money laundering offenses stemming from a mortgage fraud scheme that involved approximately $4.4 million in fraudulent loans on 86 properties. He received a sentence of probation for those offenses.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan N. Francis.

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Original text here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/operator-aircraft-supply-businesses-sentenced-11-years-federal-prison-7-million-fraud