Fuel Supply Executive Sentenced for Defrauding Ryan Airlines

A former owner and operator of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company has been sentenced to serve time in prison for participating in a scheme to defraud Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines.

Sean E. Wagner, the former owner and operator of Aviation Fuel International Inc. (AFI), was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach to serve 50 months in prison and to pay $202,856 in restitution.

Wagner and others at AFI made kickback payments to Wayne Kepple, a former vice president of ground operations for Ryan, totaling more than $200,000 in the form of checks, wire transfers, cash and gift cards in exchange for awarding business to AFI.

Ryan provided air passenger and cargo services for corporations, private individuals and the U.S. government, including the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Awarding government contracts in exchange for payoffs is a serious crime, said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division.

“Today’s sentence reaffirms the division’s commitment to vigorously prosecute individuals who engage in this behavior,” Baer said.

Five individuals, including Wagner, have pleaded guilty and have been ordered to serve sentences ranging from 16 to 87 months in prison and to pay more than $780,000 in restitution. An additional individual has pleaded guilty to obstructing the investigation and is currently awaiting sentencing.

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