Story ID: 
N.Y. Parts Dealer Sentenced on Fraud Charges
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: The operator of Star Aero, pled guilty to three counts of fraud and export violations, and will serve three years in prison.
Word Count: 173
William Vanmanen, operator of Long Island, New York-based aircraft parts supplier Star Aero (previously Aero-Star), was sentenced earlier this month to 30 months in prison, two years supervised release, and a $300 special court assessment after he pled guilty to several criminal acts. According to the USDOT’s Office of the Inspector General, Vanmanen confessed in 2016 to counts of fraud involving aircraft parts in interstate commerce, attempting to violate the Arms Export Control Act, and submitting false export information.

The criminal investigation conducted jointly by the DOT, the Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General, and the FBI, found that in 2011 he created and used fake Airworthiness Approval tags that falsely reflected the quality of anti-ice controllers on aircraft. The following year he attempted to illegally export restricted defense parts to Hong Kong without first obtaining required State Department licenses. Vanmanen also neglected to file the required export information in the Department of Commerce’s Automated Export System, which was created to prevent shipments to unauthorized locations or customers.