A former techno DJ has been jailed after selling almost £7m worth of counterfeit aircraft engine parts from his home in a scheme which led to planes being grounded around the world.
Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, 38, admitted to forging more than 60,000 authenticity certificates for engine components on his home computer between 2019 and 2023, costing airlines millions.
His company, AOG Technics, supplied these fraudulent parts, which were then fitted into the CFM56, the world’s most widely used passenger aircraft engine, powering Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes, Southwark Crown Court heard.
In August 2023, planes worldwide were grounded after UK, US, and EU aviation agencies issued safety alerts regarding AOG’s components.
Zamora Yrala was jailed for four years and eight months.
Sentencing Zamora Yrala, Mr Justice Simon Picken stated he used several elements of “subterfuge” to defraud his customers.
“Your offending was more or less a complete undermining of the regulatory framework designed to safeguard the millions of people who fly every day, every year,” said Judge Picken.
Zamora Yrala was operating from his garage in Virginia Water, Surrey, buying engine blades, bolts and washers before selling them on to major companies such as Ethiopian Airlines and Aero Norway with fraudulent authorised release certificates (ARCs).
Faras Baloch, prosecuting, said: “Over a period of around four-and-a-half years, Zamora defrauded customers and potential customers of AOG Technics Ltd by falsifying documentation regarding the origin, provenance, condition, and status of aircraft engine parts the company had supplied or attempted to supply.
“Many of these parts were used in or intended for use in the CFM56, the leading engine in commercial aircraft, which powers Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes.”
Ethiopian Airlines and American Airlines were two of the largest companies that either bought parts from or ended up with parts sold by AOG.
Mr Baloch said: “In total, AOG sold 5,627 individual parts with false documentation to Ethiopian Airlines for approximately £1.1m, including seals, bushings, vanes, bolts and washers.”
The world’s largest airline, American Airlines, did not buy directly from AOG, but still found that 28 of its engines were affected by its unapproved parts, which caused it losses of more than £21m.
The total known financial losses incurred by airlines came to £39.3m, the court heard.
AOG’s number of employees is “unclear” as only Zamora Yrala, his then wife, her brother and the family’s nanny were ever on the payroll, the court heard.
Customers did receive emails and documents from “other” AOG employees such as “Michael Smith” and “Johnny Rico”.
Judge Picken said: “It seems to be the case that they were not real people but were made up to give the impression that AOG was more substantive than it really was.”
Zamora Yrala forged ARCs, which are required by aviation authorities to prove the quality and age of a product.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) found that he had used a French company, Safran Aerosystems, on thousands of authenticity certificates, even though it never sold parts to him.
Some 90 per cent of AOG’s revenue during the indictment period between 2019 and 2023 relied on those forged documents, the court heard.
Mr Baloch said: “Zamora identified and exploited the trust that purchasers of aircraft parts placed in the certificates and other documents they received.
“He created false ARCs issued in accordance with EU, US, UK, Singaporean and Chinese regulations, which were almost indistinguishable from genuine certificates.”
The offending was discovered when a bolt, supplied by AOG to the Portuguese Airline TAP, would not fit on an engine, the SFO has said.
This led to an examination of the forged documents, and the eventual grounding of planes after safety notices were issued on 4 August 2023, the court heard.
On 6 December 2023, Zamora Yrala’s home was searched, and he provided a statement reading: “AOG Technics Ltd sometimes (but not always) sold aircraft parts as parts manufactured by Original Equipment Manufacturers when that was not the case,” and admitted responsibility for the falsified certificates.
If the faulty part had not been flagged, it is unclear when Zamora Yrala’s offending would have been stopped.
Small broker companies dealing in aviation parts are relatively common, as the demand for specific parts at specific times can turn a significant profit.
A Portuguese investigation into others involved in the offending is ongoing and three people are in custody.
Director of operations at SFO, Emma Luxton, said: “Zamora’s operation risked public safety on a global scale in a way that defies belief.
“I’m proud that we have used our specialist skills and expertise to bring him to justice and this criminal operation to the ground as swiftly as possible.”
Zamora Yrala had worked in the aviation industry from 2011 and set up AOG in 2015 as the sole director, having reportedly previously been a techno DJ.
Nicola Howard KC, defending, admitted he “cut corners” while running AOG but did not fully understand the possible consequences of his actions.
Zamora Yrala was sentenced to four years and eight months imprisonment for defrauding AOG’s customers and potential customers.
He was also disqualified from acting as a company director for eight years, and will face proceeds of crime proceedings later this year.
