Fake aircraft parts fraudster jailed for $52M scam that grounded airline fleets
A 38-year-old man based in the UK has been jailed for over four years in prison after orchestrating a $52 million (£39.3 million) fraud selling fake commercial aircraft used by global airlines.
On February 23, 2026, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that following his guilty plea in Southwark Crown Court, London, on December 1, 2025, AOG Technics Director Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala was sentenced to four years and eight months behind bars.
An SFO investigation launched in October 2023, found that Zamora sold over 60,000 aircraft engine parts worth $9.3 million (£6.9 million) accompanied by forged Authorized Release Certificates (ARCs).
AOG Technic’s customers included airlines, maintenance repair operators and engine parts suppliers.Most of the parts that AOG sold were for use in CFM International CFM56 engines which are used to power Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes and are operated widely by airlines.
According to the SFO, AOG Technics’ operation was brought to a halt in 2023, after an airline contacted Safran (joint CFM International owner) to check the authenticity of a part.
SFO“Safran identified the certificate as a fake and alerted authorities, leading to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issuing safety alerts in relation to all AOG Technics parts,” said a SFO spokesperson.
Subsequently, commercial aircraft from across the globe were grounded as airlines urgently verified and checked parts to avoid any safety issues that could compromise operations.
Airlines caught up in the scandal included Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, TAP, Ryanair, WestJet and Virgin Australia.
“Planes in the UK and across the world were grounded, with an estimated loss of over £39.3 million for airlines including American Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines as well as various manufacturers,” added the SFO spokesperson.
Carrying out the fraud from his home office, Zamora altered genuine ARCs, creating false memos of shipments to indicate AOG had purchased parts directly from original equipment manufacturers such as Safran.
He also invented fake employees, with customers receiving emails and documents signed by a range of fabricated sales managers and quality managers, as part of “creating an illusion of a legitimate business”.
In October 2023, CFM International said the company had identified 126 engines suspected of being fitted with falsely documented parts.
At the time it was understood that the “majority of the parts involved are non-serialized items like bolts, nuts, washers, dampers, seals and bushings,” with CFM unaware of any fraudulent documentation associated with life-limited parts.
“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,” said Emma Luxton, Director of Operations at the SFO.
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A 38-year-old man based in the UK has been jailed for over four years in prison after orchestrating…
The post Fake aircraft parts fraudster jailed for $52M scam that grounded airline fleets appeared first on AeroTime.
