Boeing Jet Part Fraud Alleged Man Indicted For Lucrative Scheme Selling Bogus Parts

A Seattle man accused of selling unapproved, counterfeit replacement parts for Boeing jetliners over the past 10 years was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury, U.S. Attorney Kate Pflaumer said.

Allan L. Ausman, 60, made more than $2 million with this scheme, much of which he never reported on his tax returns from 1989-1993, the indictment alleged.

Ausman, doing business as Precision Grinding, A-Viation Sales Inc. and other names, represented himself as a legitimate aircraft parts broker able to offer parts at a substantial discount, according to the indictment.

He provided his customers with fraudulent records indicating that the parts he was selling conformed to Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the indictment said.

Ausman had parts manufactured by unapproved manufacturers using Boeing blueprints he had fraudulently obtained; or, when he could not obtain official blueprints, he simply had the parts copied without using any blueprints, the U.S. attorney alleges.

The unapproved parts included critical parts, the failure of which could have “serious or possibly catastrophic consequences, and might cause the loss of the aircraft and injury to the occupants,” according to the FAA.

In addition, Ausman was charged with tax fraud and with lying to a federal grand jury in January 1994, when he answered questions about the investigation.

The indictment was returned after a lengthy investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Attorney’s Office.

Arraignment was scheduled for Thursday.