A 36-year-old Nigerian, Olukayode Ojo, is dealing with a five-year jail time period in Texas, United States, after being discovered responsible of creating false statements to acquire a certificates from the Federal Aviation Administration.
PUNCH On-line learnt on Wednesday that after the responsible verdict, US District Decide Jodi Dishman ordered the detention of the Nigerian pilot till his sentencing.
US Lawyer Robert Troester, introduced Ojo’s conviction on Monday by way of a press release on the FAA’s official web site, revealing that Ojo had been making an attempt to acquire a medical certificates vital for piloting a business passenger plane, which led to his conviction on August 16, 2024.
Troester famous that the case was a part of an investigation by the Transportation Safety Administration—Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jackson Eldridge and Matt Dillon.
He mentioned, “On June 4, 2024, a federal jury returned a two-count superseding indictment towards Ojo, charging him with two counts of creating a false assertion. On August 16, 2024, a federal jury discovered Ojo responsible on each counts.
“Proof offered at trial indicated that Ojo, an FAA-certified business airline pilot, pleaded responsible to 2 misdemeanour theft expenses on February 8, 2023, in Kentucky state court docket in reference to a theft of passenger baggage from the luggage carousels on the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Worldwide Airport.
“Ojo then made false statements to the FAA in March 2023 and March 2024 whereas making use of for an FAA First Class Medical Certificates to hide his historical past of prior legal convictions. A First Class Medical Certificates permits an airman to pilot business passenger plane.”
The convict faces a possible sentence of as much as 5 years in federal jail, together with fines of as much as $250,000 for every depend.
