Hilliard Hester
Assistant United States Attorney
(615) 736-5151
HENDERSONVILLE MAN SENTENCED TO 37 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT ON FRAUDULENT SALE OF HELICOPTER
Nashville, TN – April 28, 2008 - United States Attorney Edward M. Yarbrough and Regional Agent in Charge John Long, of the U.S. Department of Transportation, announced today that James Randall Jennings has been sentenced to thirty-seven months of imprisonment for fraud and misrepresentation regarding the sale of a helicopter.
A federal jury convicted Jennings on two counts of wire fraud in July 2007 after hearing testimony that Jennings purchased a light duty Robinson helicopter from a Texas flight school and thereafter altered the helicopter’s flight log books to make it appear that it had flown substantially fewer hours. Jennings had been advised by the seller that the helicopter had been flown for about 2133 hours, an important factor with respect to both the value of the helicopter and its airworthiness. Once the helicopter had been flown for 2200 hours, it was required by the manufacturer and the FAA to undergo a major overhaul that includes complete replacement of the main rotor blade, an essential part that allows the helicopter to stay in the air. In light of that fact, Jennings paid $30,000 for the helicopter, which was slightly less than the average market value. Soon thereafter, however, Jennings posted an advertisement on the Internet offering the helicopter for sale, therein falsely representing that the helicopter had only been flown approximately 1500 hours. Evidence at trial showed that Jennings had altered the helicopter’s flight log books, which are required by federal regulations to be accurately maintained, to falsely reflect that the helicopter had been flown slightly over 1500 hours. Jennings also removed the previously installed flight meter, which records hours flown, and replaced it with another flight meter having readings that coincided with his false representations that the helicopter had only been flown for about 1500 hours. When the eventual purchasers inspected the helicopter, Jennings’ false representations about the fewer flight hours appeared to be accurate. This misrepresentation allowed Jennings to sell the helicopter for almost twice what he had paid for it.
As further shown by evidence at trial, the fraud was detected when one of the purchasers happened to take the helicopter to an aircraft maintenance facility in Texas for some cosmetic work. This facility, by coincidence, was the same company that had serviced the helicopter for the flight school that had sold the helicopter to Jennings. The aircraft maintenance personnel recognized the helicopter, and knew from an inspection of their maintenance records that both the flight log book and the hours meter reflected far fewer hours than the helicopter had actually been flown. Given the serious safety issues presented, the FAA and the Department of Transportation were notified and thereafter commenced the investigation that led to the criminal charges on which Jennings was convicted.
In sentencing Jennings on April 25, 2008, U.S. District Judge Echols found that in addition to the financial harm inflicted, Jennings’ conduct had created a serious risk of injury or death to others since the helicopter could not be considered safe to fly. Judge Echols also found that Jennings had abused his skills and knowledge as a pilot to commit the fraud. However, Judge Echols balanced those matters against the fact that Jennings had recently provided assistance to state law enforcement with respect to other unrelated but serious investigations, and determined that a 37 month prison sentence was appropriate. The judge also ordered that following Jennings’ prison sentence, he will be on supervised release for three years, during which he will be required to pay $87,500 in restitution to the victims he defrauded.
“This was not a case in which someone simply lied in order to steal money” stated U.S. Attorney Yarbrough. “If this fraud had not been disclosed and pursued by the federal agencies whose objectives also include air safety, it could well have ended quite tragically. We will continue to make sure that our federal judges are fully informed when such aggravating factors are present, and will request appropriate increases in sentences in such cases.”
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hilliard Hester and Lori Glenn.