Brea Man Gets 15 Years for Jet Parts Scheme

A Brea man has been sentenced in federal court to more than 15 years in prison for selling falsely certified aircraft parts and offering military jet parts to China.

Calling Amanullah Khan “a menace to worldwide air safety,” U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on Monday also ordered Khan to pay more than $5.4 million in restitution, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Douglas F. McCormick.

Khan, 56, pleaded guilty two years ago to 12 felony counts of conspiracy and aircraft parts fraud. He admitted to issuing false certifications for aircraft parts through his Anaheim brokerage from 2000 to 2002.

For example, he sold aluminum parts for Bell helicopters, telling customers they were steel. The aluminum part is expected to last 300 hours; the steel, 2,500 hours. He also reconditioned parts and sold them in counterfeit packaging.

Khan also agreed to sell parts to federal agents posing as Chinese arms brokers.

Two weeks ago, Carter sentenced a co-defendant in the false-certification case, Ziad Jamil Gammoh, 55, of Tustin, to 78 months in prison.