Latest news with #JaredMichaelSwensen
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
California helicopter business sold used parts as new, risking customers' lives, indictment says
The same day a helicopter broke apart and crashed in the Hudson River, killing all aboard, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles was formally accusing a local helicopter repair company of putting its customers at similar risk. Federal prosecutors say for more than three years, Jared Michael Swensen, 48, of Ventura, repaired and sold aircraft parts that were nearing the end of their service life but listed them as new. A failure of that equipment could have led to a deadly helicopter crash, prosecutors said. The helicopter parts installed on customers' aircraft were listed as having a few hundred service hours or in some instances being brand new, when in reality the parts were closer to the end of their limit for service, according to the indictment. Swensen operated his business, Light Helicopter Depot, out of the Oxnard Airport. He advertised that he was certified with an Airframe and Power Plant Certificate with inspection authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration. "We specialize in bringing older and timed out aircraft back to life," the company said in a now deleted website advertising its services. But in reality, prosecutors say Swensen and his company made falsified entries on maintenance logbooks and altered sale orders and packing slips to match the falsified entries. The company is also accused of falsifying Federal Aviation Administration release certificates, used to show that an aircraft is airworthy. On two occasions, Swensen and his company billed his customers for his service, including one bill for $13,000 and another for $23,700, according to court records. The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General investigated the case and the FAA assisted. If convicted, Swensen could face up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and up to 15 years in prison for each count of fraud involving aircraft parts. His business could also be fined up to $10 million for each aircraft parts fraud count and up to $1 million for each wire fraud count, according to prosecutors. Swensen has not yet entered a plea in response to the charges, according to court records. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
16-04-2025
- Los Angeles Times
California helicopter business sold used parts as new, risking customers' lives, indictment says
The same day a helicopter broke apart and crashed in the Hudson River, killing all aboard, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles was formally accusing a local helicopter repair company of putting its customers at similar risk. Federal prosecutors say for more than three years, Jared Michael Swensen, 48, of Ventura, repaired and sold aircraft parts that were nearing the end of their service life but listed them as new. A failure of that equipment could have led to a deadly helicopter crash, prosecutors said. The helicopter parts installed on customers' aircraft were listed as having a few hundred service hours or in some instances being brand new, when in reality the parts were closer to the end of their limit for service, according to the indictment. Swensen operated his business, Light Helicopter Depot, out of the Oxnard Airport. He advertised that he was certified with an Airframe and Power Plant Certificate with inspection authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration. 'We specialize in bringing older and timed out aircraft back to life,' the company said in a now deleted website advertising its services. But in reality, prosecutors say Swensen and his company made falsified entries on maintenance logbooks and altered sale orders and packing slips to match the falsified entries. The company is also accused of falsifying Federal Aviation Administration release certificates, used to show that an aircraft is airworthy. On two occasions, Swensen and his company billed his customers for his service, including one bill for $13,000 and another for $23,700, according to court records. The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General investigated the case and the FAA assisted. If convicted, Swensen could face up to 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and up to 15 years in prison for each count of fraud involving aircraft parts. His business could also be fined up to $10 million for each aircraft parts fraud count and up to $1 million for each wire fraud count, according to prosecutors. Swensen has not yet entered a plea in response to the charges, according to court records.
CBS News
16-04-2025
- CBS News
Ventura man arrested in scheme to repair helicopters with parts prone to failure
A federal grand jury indicted a Ventura man for allegedly repairing helicopters with parts approaching the end of their lifespan, making the aircraft more likely to fail. Jared Michael Swensen, 48, and his Oxnard-based company, Light Helicopter Depot, face two counts of wire fraud and eight counts of fraud involving aircraft parts for the alleged scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. If convicted, Swenson faces a maximum of 160 years in prison. In addition to standard maintenance work, Swenson's company overhauled helicopters with parts nearing or at the end of their lifespan, according to investigators. Instead of swapping the parts with newer replacements, Swenson allegedly used pieces that were much older than he represented or nearing the end of their lifespan, including main rotor blades and spindles. The Department of Justice said that if the parts failed, the helicopter would likely crash. Investigators said he allegedly made materially false entries in the helicopter's maintenance logbook. Federal prosecutors said he also allegedly altered sales orders and packing slips to correspond with the false entries, making the parts appear years newer than their actual age. In a similar situation, Swenson allegedly altered the Federal Aviation Administration certificates used to ensure the helicopter parts were airworthy, according to the DOJ.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Ventura County heli mechanic used old parts, risking crashes: DOJ
A Ventura County man and his business are facing 10 federal charges for allegedly lying about the age of replacement helicopter parts and, by extension, raising the chances of a crash. Jared Michael Swensen, 48, of Ventura was arrested Tuesday, and he and his Oxnard-based company Light Helicopter Depot are charged with two counts of wire fraud and eight counts of fraud involving aircraft parts, the United States Department of Justice said in a news release. Swensen and his company are accused of overhauling and maintaining helicopters using older parts, though they told customers the parts were newer or had been overhauled. Instead, those parts, including critical pieces like main rotor blades and spindles, were 'closer to their life limit than [Swensen and his company] represented,' and 'if these parts failed, a helicopter likely would crash,' prosecutors said. 'Swensen and his company allegedly made materially false entries in the helicopter's maintenance logbook and fraudulently altered sales orders and packing slips to correspond with the false entries – misrepresenting the age of the helicopter parts as being years newer than their actual age,' the DOJ said. 'The defendants also fraudulently altered Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) release certificates – used to certify that an aircraft part was airworthy – to falsely claim that the certificate was issued more than two years after its actual issuance date.' Swensen is expected to make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court Tuesday afternoon. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count and 15 years for each count of fraud involving aircraft parts. Furthermore, if convicted, Light Helicopter Depot could be fined up to $10 million for each aircraft parts fraud count and $1 million for each wire fraud count. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
