The rot at the top of Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Inc. has finally been exposed. Lars Winkelbauer, the airline’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, has been sentenced to four years in prison for masterminding a massive kickback scheme that fleeced the company out of $32 million.
Winkelbauer, 48, of Bangkok, Thailand, was handed down the harsh sentence by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The investigation into the scheme, which spanned over a decade, was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
According to court documents, Winkelbauer and at least nine other individuals participated in the scheme, which involved accepting millions of dollars in kickbacks from vendors and customers in exchange for favorable business arrangements with Polar. The Executive Defendants, including Winkelbauer, received unlawful payments totaling over $23 million, with Winkelbauer personally pocketing over $6 million in kickbacks connected to 11 separate vendors or customers.
The scheme also involved a sophisticated money laundering operation, including the use of falsified invoices and shell companies in China to conceal the illicit payments. Winkelbauer’s brazen scheme caused tens of millions of dollars in harm to Polar and its stakeholders.
The sentence sends a strong message that corporate corruption won’t be tolerated. “Lars Winkelbauer abused his high-level position at Polar for over a decade, extracting millions of dollars in kickbacks for himself and causing tens of millions of dollars of harm to the company,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “The substantial sentence imposed today sends an important message: corporate corruption doesn’t pay.”
As part of his sentence, Winkelbauer was also ordered to forfeit $6,774,039.30 and to make restitution to Polar in the amount of $32,902,847. The case was prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Reilly, Danielle Kudla, Kevin Mead, and Qais Ghafary leading the charge.
Related Federal Cases
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
