Jury Convicts Fayetteville Man of Lying to FAA

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Noah Felice, 71, was convicted yesterday of lying to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following a two-day jury trial in the United States District Court in Syracuse, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Christopher A. Scharf, Special Agent in Charge, Northeastern Region of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General and Christopher F. Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.

During the trial, evidence was presented that proved that in September 2017, Felice submitted to the FAA an application for an airman medical certificate, which is a certificate demonstrating that a pilot is medically fit to fly an aircraft.  On the application, Felice stated that he had no history of criminal convictions and was not receiving medical disability benefits.  In fact, Felice had four prior misdemeanor convictions, two of which were for lying about his criminal history on state and local forms.  Felice also was receiving several thousand dollars a month from the Department of Veterans Affairs because he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 19, 2023, in Syracuse, New York, at which time the defendant faces a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case is being investigated by the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Sutcliffe and Paul Tuck.