The pilot of a Guyanese-operated jet charter firm that came under federal scrutiny following a 2005 crash, yesterday pleaded guilty to making dozens of illegal flights, as part of what prosecutors charged was an “anything goes” scheme by the company to pump up profits, according to news website nj.com.
Francis Vieira, 60, of Ft. Lauderdale pleaded guilty in a New Jersey Federal Court, just weeks before he was set to go to trial with four others of the now-grounded Platinum Jet Management LLC. Vieira faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced in January.
According to the report, Vieira told assistant US Attorney Scott B. McBride that he falsified flight logs, altered weight and center of gravity graphs, and routinely flew illegal charter flights that violated federal safety regulations.