Texas Man Indicted For Fraud Involving Trade Of Airplane And Aircraft Parts

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – On Wednesday, November 12, a federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment charging LARRY DALE MORGAN of Hutto, Texas, with wire fraud in connection with the trade of an airplane and fraud and false statements involving aircraft parts, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Morgan was a pilot who owned and operated several aircraft in Cushing, Oklahoma. According to the indictment, Morgan fraudulently induced a fellow pilot from Ovid, New York, into trading the man’s Cessna 421A aircraft for Morgan’s Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft, knowing that the Beechcraft Bonanza was worth substantially less than the $123,500.00 that Mr. Morgan represented in email communications. The indictment further alleges that Morgan made multiple false and fraudulent entries in the aircraft’s logbooks, and failed to disclose an existing lien on the aircraft when he executed the Bill of Sale. Reference is made to the indictment and court record for further information.

If convicted, Morgan faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release on the wire fraud counts. He faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and up to three years’ supervised release on the aircraft parts fraud counts, as well as up to five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release on the false writing count. The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia E. Barry.