Man jailed for selling counterfeit aircraft parts
A man has been sentenced to prison after selling nearly £7 million worth of counterfeit airplane parts that caused the grounding of hundreds of international flights.
Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, from Virginia Water in Surrey, admitted to defrauding customers between 2019 and 2023 while serving as director of the UK-based company AOG Technics.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) reported that Zamora Yrala, a former techno DJ, sold over 60,000 fake components that were installed in Boeing and Airbus passenger aircraft operated by airlines worldwide.
Zamora Yrala was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison at Southwark Crown Court.
Emma Luxton, director of operations at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said the 38-year-old "risked public safety... in a way that defies belief".
Defrauding customers and grounding planes
In 2023, numerous planes were grounded after aviation authorities in the UK, US, and EU issued safety alerts to airlines that may have purchased or installed parts supplied by AOG Technics.
Operating from his garage, Zamora Yrala purchased engine blades, bolts, and washers, then forged documentation on his computer to sell these counterfeit parts.
The parts were used in the CFM56 engine, the most widely used passenger aircraft engine globally, which powers Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft.
Prosecutor Faras Baloch informed the court that Zamora Yrala "defrauded customers" by falsifying paperwork regarding the parts' origin, condition, and status.
He also fabricated employees, with customers receiving emails and documents signed by fictitious sales and quality managers, according to the SFO.
The total value of the counterfeit parts sold was approximately £6.9 million.
Sentencing and impact
During sentencing, Mr Justice Simon Picken highlighted the multiple layers of deception used by Zamora Yrala.
He said: "Your offending was more or less a complete undermining of the regulatory framework designed to safeguard the millions of people who fly every day, every year."
The court was informed that airlines suffered losses totaling £39.3 million as a result of the fraud.
The fraudulent activity was uncovered in 2023 after a bolt supplied by Zamora Yrala to a Portuguese airline failed to fit an engine.
This discovery prompted a review of documentation and led to the grounding of aircraft following safety notices issued on 4 August 2023.
Among the airlines affected were Ryanair, American Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and TAP Air Portugal.
Although American Airlines did not purchase parts directly from AOG Technics, it found that 28 of its engines were affected, resulting in losses of £21 million.
In addition to his prison sentence, Zamora Yrala was disqualified from acting as a company director for eight years and will face proceeds of crime proceedings later this year.
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