Investigations

On February 5, 2020, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee, indicted Richard Harper, a resident of the United Kingdom, for attempting aircraft parts fraud and wire fraud.

 

According to the indictment, Harper, the owner and operator of Apple International, Inc., devised and participated in a scheme to falsify and conceal a material fact involving an aircraft. He allegedly removed the data plates from one helicopter fuselage; affixed them to a different helicopter without documenting the repair in work orders or aircraft logbooks; and concealed these material facts when he presented the aircraft to FAA for airworthiness certification. Apple International, Inc., is a helicopter repair and sales facility in Bristol, Tennessee.

 

DOT-OIG and Homeland Security Investigations are conducting this investigation with substantial assistance from FAA.

 

Note: Indictments, informations, and criminal complaints are only accusations by the Government. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.