Helicopter Indictment/Scam
Timmy
SEATTLE - Four men have been indicted by a federal grand jury, accused
of altering military helicopters to disguise them as civilian aircraft,
U.S. Attorney Kate Pflaumer said yesterday.
A nine-count indictment alleges that the four - James Anderson, a 39-
year-old commercial airline pilot from Bellevue; Kim Powell, a 47-year-
old Bellingham aircraft-parts broker; James Culliton, a 54-year-old
Sacramento, Calif., lawyer; and Chester Rasberry, a 53-year-old Apple
Valley, Calif., owner of a commercial helicopter company - conspired to
defraud the federal government by altering military surplus Bell UH-1
helicopters to make them look like civilian Bell 204B model
helicopters.
The U.S. Attorney's Office claims the helicopters were awarded Federal
Aviation Administration standard airworthiness certificates, allowing
the aircraft to be used in lucrative firefighting contracts with
federal and state governments.
Since the FAA does not permit military UH-1 helicopters to carry
civilian passengers, government agencies pay top dollar for certified
civilian helicopters.
The defendants are accused of obtaining records for crashed or
destroyed civilian helicopters, then linking the records to the surplus
military helicopters they illegally altered, claiming they had repaired
the aircraft.
They are charged with conspiracy, fraud and making false statements.
Information is from Seattle Times staff and news services.
CdrKing wrote:
> I believe there was a post recently regarding some people who were in trouble
> for turning UH-1s into civil 204Bs. I can't seem to locate the original post.
> Would someone be kind enough to repost this article.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Jeff King
CdrKing
Steve Waltner
(CdrKing) wrote:
http://www.deja.com/ and you can search for almost any USENET (newsgroup)
posting made over the last 5 years.
--
Steve Waltner
swal...@kscable.com
mr_rot...@my-deja.com
http://www.vvdailypress.com/topstory/dp0101200b.html
Businessman faces federal fraud charges
COURTS : Rasberry accused of disguising military helicopters as civilian
aircraft.
By SCOTT VANHORNE
Staff Writer
APPLE VALLEY -- A 53-year-old businessman from this High Desert town is
set to appear in federal court in Seattle today for multiple counts of
defrauding government agencies.
Chester Colbert Rasberry, president of Heavy Lift Helicopters Inc., is
facing federal charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and making
false statement to the Federal Aviation Administration.
James Anderson and Kim Powell, both of Washington state, and James
Culliton of Sacramento were also included in the Sept. 26
indictment handed down by a federal grand jury.
The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in federal
court today.
Rasberry did not return a call to his Apple Valley office on Wednesday.
The indictment alleges the defendants altered military helicopters to
disguise them as civilian aircraft because the FAA does not allow
military helicopters to carry civilian passengers.
The helicopters were leased to the U.S. Forest Service and the
California Department of Forestry to fight fires. The agencies would pay
top dollar for the aircraft because they could carry firefighters and
others.
Rasberry also reportedly sold one of the former military helicopters to
a helicopter tour company in Hawaii for $380,000. The buyer was told the
helicopter was a civilian aircraft, according to the indictment.
The defendants carried out the scheme by purchasing or reporting the
purchase of wrecked civilian Bell 204B helicopters and then reporting
they had repaired the aircraft.
The defendants also purchased military surplus Bell UH-1 helicopters
and made modifications to make the aircraft look like Bell 204B
helicopters, according to the indictment. The two helicopters are
similar in appearance.
The defendants then applied for permits for the military helicopters
from the FAA claiming the aircraft were civilian helicopters.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Kevin O'Brien
>
>From The Daily Press.
>http://www.vvdailypress.com/topstory/dp0101200b.html
>Businessman faces federal fraud charges
> By SCOTT VANHORNE
<snip>
> The defendants carried out the scheme by purchasing or reporting the
>purchase of wrecked civilian Bell 204B helicopters and then reporting
>they had repaired the aircraft.
I wonder, ,if things like this alleged fraud are why Bell has the strident
warning on its website about Bell helicopters that have been written off... it
is something to the effect of, once it is reported as destroyed, it is
unrebuildable as far as we are concerned, and if you're flying it you're
breaking the law.
cheers
-=K=-
Rule #1: Don't hit anything big.