The owner of a Missouri-based aircraft supply companies pleaded guilty to a $7 million fraud scheme that impacted a Darien investment firm.
According to a news release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Kyle J. Wine owned and operated various companies engaged in the commercial aircraft supply industry, including JetPro International LLC, Nexus Aviation and Turbotech Partners. Wine is accused of defrauding investors in aircraft-related transactions between 2018 and 2021, using his victims’ money to purchase aircraft airframes and engines ”“ he sold the aircraft airframes and engines, hid the resulting profits from his investors and diverted invested funds for his personal use.
As part of the scheme, Wine induced an unnamed Darien investment firm to invest $4.5 million in the purported acquisition and sale of an Airbus A320-231 airframe and two aircraft engines. Wine sent fictitious correspondence to the victim investor through fake domain names and email accounts to send fraudulent correspondence to the victim investor, thus tricking the investor into believing that JetPro was attempting to sell the Airbus airframe and the two aircraft engines to certain buyers.
In reality, Wine had already sold one engine for $2.45 million and the Airbus airframe for $1.3 million. The victim investor shared none of the proceeds of the sales with the investor. Wine also used some of the invested funds to purchase another aircraft engine without the knowledge of the victim investor.
In total, Wine”™s fraud scheme caused $7,152,666.67 in losses to 13 separate victims.
Wine pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. He is currently free on bond pending sentencing, which is not scheduled.
