A federal jury in Maryland convicted an Annapolis man Thursday of wire fraud for using customer funds on personal expenses instead of private jets.
Read more New polls show Maine Senate race tightening between Collins and Platner
The Justice Department said Patrick Britton-Harr’s private club, AeroVanti, offered people access to flying on private jets through a Top Gun membership. That would let customers pay $150,000 toward the club buying a jet, leading to a discount on a block of flight hours.
The 100 or so Top Gun members raised $15 million, which was to be spent on five jets. Britton-Harr, 43, promised to buy the planes and protect the money by putting the titles for the planes in escrow, federal prosecutors said.
Britton-Harr then spent the money on his living expenses, yachts, jewelry and a Tampa, Florida, home that cost $10,000 a month to rent.
Read more Some Republican governors are rebranding June with conservative alternatives to Pride
He also tried covering up his scheme by taking out a $1.5 million loan to buy an aircraft he told members he had already bought, the Justice Department said.
Britton-Harr was convicted on six counts of wire fraud. A sentencing date has not been set, but each count of wire fraud carries up to 20 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors also said Britton-Harr is accused in a separate case of committing multiple counts of healthcare fraud and a count of money laundering as part of a plan to bill Medicare for expensive respiratory tests. That case goes to trial in October.
Read more The ‘Spurs Nuns’ aim to bring divine intervention to the NBA Finals
About the Author
