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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Controversial Spokane pilot denies boat-sale fraud charges

A Spokane pilot with a long history of troubled business dealings pleaded not guilty Friday to charges in an Aug. 4 federal indictment for wire fraud.

The indictment alleges Craig Frost agreed to sell a 40-foot boat to a Tennessee resident for $350,000, but failed to deliver the boat or provide a title to it once he had received the money. He is also accused of providing incorrect serial numbers to the would-be purchaser and misrepresenting the boat as free of debt and liens, when more than $100,000 was owed on it.

Frost pleaded not guilty to three counts of wire fraud in a court hearing Friday afternoon. A judge ordered him held in jail over the weekend until a bail report could be completed and a detention hearing held. That hearing is set for Aug. 17.

His lawyer, federal public defender Steve Roberts, argued that unspecified medical conditions should allow for an expedited hearing.

“He has no experience with the prison system or criminal justice system,” Roberts said.

Frost’s wife watched the hearing silently and held back tears as U.S. marshals handcuffed her husband.

Frost has been involved in several high-profile lawsuits over aviation business dealings involving famous athletes.

In 2002, he signed an agreement with Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen that gave Pippen 51 percent ownership of a Gulfstream II jet Frost flew as an air charter pilot.

By the end of the year, Pippen had become concerned Frost wasn’t maintaining the plane properly. Both men stopped making payments in 2003, and Pippen later lost a $5 million suit filed by U.S. Bank over the delinquent loan.

The deal ended with Pippen suing a Chicago law firm, accusing them of negligence for failing to monitor his plane investment. Pippen reached a confidential settlement with Frost and, in 2011, won a $2.37 million judgment against him for failing to make payments on that settlement.

Frost also piloted a Gulfstream IV for Alex Rodriguez, and purchased the plane with the baseball star in 2007.

That deal ended with multiple lawsuits filed by creditors against Aviation Jets LLC, the company to which Frost and Rodriguez registered the plane, including a settlement of $419,000 for not making payments on a loan used to purchase the plane.

Newspaper records show Frost faced a suspension of his pilot’s license in 1998 after the FAA cited him for flying an unsafe helicopter. He successfully appealed the suspension and was also cleared of a federal witness intimidation charge alleging he assaulted a man who was testifying against him.

If convicted of wire fraud, Frost faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He would also have to forfeit the $349,489 transferred to him for the boat sale.