On Friday, December 6, 2019, the last of four South Florida residents was sentenced to prison in connection with the operation of Jet Link, Inc., an aircraft parts broker in Margate, Florida.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Wendell W. Palmer, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations - Office of Procurement Fraud, Detachment 5, Dobbins ARB, GA; Special Agent Jozette Gillespie, Acting Director, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (CID-MPFU); Cyndy Bruce, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office; and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office announced the sentencing of Robert Cantone, 74, of Coral Springs, Alex Cantone, 41, of Sunrise, Brenda Snelgrove, 58, of Coconut Creek, Ronald Burns, 45, of Hollywood, and Jet Link, Inc., for their roles in an aircraft parts fraud scheme.
The defendants and the corporation previously pled guilty for their respective criminal conduct (Case No. 18cr60329). On December 6, 2019, U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman sentenced R. Cantone to 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered the defendant to pay $91,095.70 in restitution. Previously, co-defendant Burns was sentenced to 12 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $6,340 in restitution. Co-defendant Snelgrove was sentenced to 3 years of probation, with six months of house arrest, and ordered to pay $18,581 in restitution. Co-defendant A. Cantone was given Pre-trial Diversion. Jet Link, Inc. was sentenced to 3 years of probation and ordered to pay $91,095.70 in restitution.
According to the court record, Jet Link, Inc. and the co-defendants are now prohibited from conducting further business with the Department of Defense, and during the defendants’ terms of supervised release, they will all be prohibited from purchasing, selling, distributing, or acquiring of aircraft parts, both commercial and military, and shall further be prohibited from associating with or being employed by, any company involved with the purchase or sale of aircraft parts, both commercial and military.
According to court records and evidence presented during hearings, R. Cantone, A. Cantone, Snelgrove, and Burns, would unjustly enrich themselves by fraudulently winning contracts for the supply of military aircraft parts to the Defense Logistics Agency (“DLA"), by supplying the DLA with false certifications on their electronic bid quotations, by stating Jet Link “currently possesses the material," and that the parts were “inspected for correct part number and for absence of corrosion or any obvious defects," were “in its original package," and were “new, unused, and not of such age or so deteriorated as to impair its usefulness or safety," when, in fact, these parts were not purchased until after the contracts had been awarded by DLA. These parts were thereafter shipped to the Department of Defense, and were often either non-conforming or substandard.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army CID-MPFU, DCIS, and ICE-HSI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
