Two men receive prison sentences for $10 million JetBlue fraud

Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentencing of Julien Levy and Keily Nunez to prison for defrauding JetBlue Airways of approximately $10 million through fraudulent aircraft part invoices. Photo: Peter K. Afriyie/AP

Julien Levy and Keily Nunez were sentenced to 40 and 20 months in prison, respectively, on Friday in federal court in Brooklyn for defrauding JetBlue Airways of approximately $10 million.

The sentences were announced by Breon Peace, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ivan J. Arvelo, special agent-in-charge of Homeland Security Investigations, following the duo’s guilty pleas to committing honest services wire fraud.

Levy, who is from Englewood, New Jersey, and Nunez, from Jamaica, New York, engaged in a scheme that involved manipulating contracts and the identity theft of a deceased employee to bypass JetBlue’s internal controls.

Their actions, which spanned from July 2017 to June 2021, led to the approval of over $10 million in fraudulent aircraft part invoices, directly benefiting their own interests at the airline’s expense.

U.S. Attorney Peace commented on the case, emphasizing the commitment to holding individuals accountable for corrupt business practices. The investigation received support from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The prosecution was led by Department of Justice Trial Attorney Patrick J. Campbell and Assistant United States Attorney Nick Axelrod, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Liam McNett.

“These defendants shamelessly lined their own pockets by diverting millions of dollars in airline part contracts to entities they controlled,” stated United States Attorney Peace.

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