A Bergen County man was sentenced Friday in Brooklyn federal court for his role in a scheme to defraud JetBlue Airways of more than $1.5 million.
Julien Levy, 39, of Englewood, bribed now-former JetBlue employee Keily Nunez, 44, of Queens, New York, and an unidentified co-conspirator, to approve aircraft part invoices, according to Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Peace said the bribes were to seal deals for airplane parts between JetBlue and Levy’s company, Summit Aviation Supply LLC.
Nunez also approved more than $8.5 million in aircraft part invoices between JetBlue and Alaris Aerospace Systems, a Florida-based aircraft parts seller a co-conspirator controlled, Peace said in a statement.
Levy’s role in the crimes occurred between July 2017 and June 2021, Peace said.
Levy and Nunez each pleaded guilty to committing honest services wire fraud in June and July 2023. The men were each sentenced to a prison term of up to three years or more, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“The defendants abused their positions of power to orchestrate a scheme that defrauded JetBlue Airways out of millions of dollars,” Ivan Arvelo, Homeland Security special agent in charge, said in a statement.
Arvelo said Levy and Nunez manipulated the identity of a deceased airline employee to “circumvent the company’s policies and procedures with the sole intention of enriching themselves.”
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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