South Florida Man Pleads Guilty To Aircraft Parts Fraud
On June 17, 2011, Saif Cheema, employee of Daytona Aerospace, pled guilty in U.S. District Court, Miami, Florida, to one count of aircraft parts fraud.
This investigation revealed that Mr. Cheema made a false statement on an "ATA 106 Part or Material Certification Form" stating that an aircraft part belonging to Boeing, was in New Surplus "NS" condition and had been received from the defunct, Pan Am Airlines. Mr. Cheema knew the aircraft part had been recently manufactured by Zerene Aircraft Inventory, an airplane parts broker in Miami, Florida, a company not authorized to manufacture Boeing parts for either U.S. Military or the commercial aviation sector. Sentencing is scheduled for August 26, 2011.
This investigation is being conducted jointly with Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Air Force 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.