SFO secures conviction in international aircraft fraud

Parts sold were fitted into the world’s most widely used passenger aircraft engine, the CFM56 engine.

Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala plead guilty at Southwark Crown Court, ahead of trial, to operating his company for a fraudulent purpose.

AOG Technic’s customers included airlines, maintenance repair operators and engine parts suppliers.

From 2019 to 2023, Zamora Yrala defrauded customers by falsifying documentation that related to the origin and status of CFM56 engine parts. CFM56 engines power Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes.

Planes in the UK and across the world were grounded in 2023 after the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued safety alerts to airlines that may have bought or installe