A former techno DJ, Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, has been sentenced to 4 years and 8 months in prison in the United Kingdom for orchestrating a $52 million fraud scheme involving the sale of counterfeit aircraft engine parts.
Yrala founded AOG Technics and sold over 60,000 engine parts, primarily for CFM56 engines used in Airbus and Boeing aircraft, between 2019 and 2023. He forged documents to guarantee airworthiness and created fake company personnel.
The scam was uncovered when an airline contacted Safran, a part manufacturer, to verify a part's authenticity, leading to the discovery of the fraud. This incident resulted in aircraft being grounded globally due to safety concerns, as aviation safety agencies in the UK, US, and EU were alerted.