Man Sentenced for Selling Bogus Aircraft Parts

A federal judge Monday sentenced a Canyon Country man to 4 1/2 years in prison for tax fraud, shoddy aircraft repairs and endangering the lives of military and civilian fliers by selling bogus aircraft parts.

Aman Khan, 46, also was banned from dealing in aircraft parts in the future, ordered to serve three years probation and pay $698,905 in fines to reimburse the government and civilian firms.

U.S. District Court Judge David V. Kenyon handed down the penalties under a plea arrangement worked out between Khan’s attorney, Scott Spolin, and federal prosecutor Mark A. Byrne.

“No individual should be able to profit at the expense and safety of the American public,” Kenyon said.

Spolin declined to comment on the sentence.

According to Byrne, Khan advertised parts for sale on the Inventory Locator Service, or ILS, an international computer database for aircraft components. He sold the parts as new on the database, but they were actually purchased used and hastily refurbished at Khan’s Valencia warehouse, Byrne said, adding that victims were bilked out of about $500,000.

Even Khan’s employees were unaware of the fraud, Byrne said.

The parts included jet engine compressor blades and speed brakes, wing components that slow a plane making a landing after it touches down. A defective compressor blade could shut down the engine in flight and a faulty speed brake could cause a plane to veer unexpectedly during landings, authorities said.

Khan had also contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense to do aircraft repairs at Robbins Air Force Base, Ga., and Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. At both sites, he submitted invoices stating that he performed work he had not, the prosecutor said.

In November 1995, Khan also pleaded guilty to an indictment charging that he filed seven federal tax returns and five false California tax returns that claimed a total of $126,000 in false refunds.

The Internal Revenue Service and the state issued six checks totaling $72,099, which Khan deposited in his own bank accounts, the indictment said.

From 1989 to 1993 he filed the returns under the names of two fictitious people, Stella Ramtoo and Anthony Fernandez. Ramtoo was later discovered to be the maiden name of Khan’s wife.

Khan also admitted to filing for a new U.S. passport when he already had a valid one, which is a federal crime.

It took several assistant U.S. attorneys, FBI agents, military investigative bodies, the IRS, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of State and U.S. Postal Service to untangle Khan’s web, Byrne said.

“I assume when he gets out of jail and gets a job, he’ll do his best to pay his fines,” Byrne said. “If not, [authorities] pursue the fines aggressively.”