Aviation Distributors’ Top 2 Execs Step Down

Aviation Distributors Inc. of Irvine, accused by its former accountants of submitting false sales figures to obtain a bank loan, said its top two executives are stepping down. Founder and Chief Executive Osamah S. Bakhit has given up his management responsibilities and will focus on building the company’s sales unit and developing joint ventures with other firms. Mark W. Ashton resigned as chief financial officer and as a director. Bakhit, who owns about 60% of Aviation’s Distributors’ common stock, has given control of his 1.4 million shares to company trustee Dirk O. Julander, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The airplane parts reseller also said it has hired a new auditing firm, Grant Thornton, to replace Arthur Andersen, which resigned in August and withdrew three years of financial reviews after saying it discovered false sales figures. The disclosure prompted Nasdaq to halt trading of the company’s stock in September and delist the shares in October.