James Leonard Brumit, 71, of Nashville, Tenn., was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury and charged with two counts of fraud involving aircraft; two counts of making false statements; and two counts of aggravated identity theft, announced Acting United States Attorney Jack Smith of the Middle District of Tennessee.
The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) regulates air travel and requires all U.S.-registered general aviation aircraft to undergo an annual inspection. The annual inspections are required to be performed by mechanics who are certified by the FAA as Inspection Authorization (“IA”) holders.
After an annual inspection is performed, the FAA requires the IA certificate holder to make an entry on the aircraft log book certifying that the annual inspection was made in accordance with FAA regulations, and that the information furnished therein is true and correct. An IA certificate holder receives a unique license number from the FAA to utilize when certifying annual inspections.
The indictment alleges that on July 3, 2014, and again on August 19, 2014, Brumit falsified the logbooks of two aircraft by forging the signature of an individual who held FAA inspection authority and falsely certified that the inspection was performed and reviewed by that person.
If convicted, the defendant faces up to ten years in prison for each aircraft inspection fraud count, as well as a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison for each false statement count. Both offenses also carry a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The aggravated identity theft charges carry mandatory two-year sentences.
Aircraft owners, who believe Brumit serviced their aircraft, are encouraged to contact the FAA’s local Flight District Standards Office. Local contact information can be found at https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo/.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation-Office of Inspector General and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Toussaint is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.