KANSAS, CITY – A former employee of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company, who destroyed files relevant to an investigation into fraud and anticompetitive conduct in the airline charter services industry, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, according to federal prosecutors.
Craig Perez, a former employee of Aviation Fuel International Inc., pleaded guilty to the felony charge Monday in U.S. District Court to destroying the files in his laptop computer, federal officials said.
“The Antitrust Division will hold accountable those who attempt to conceal their illegal actions and obstruct a government investigation ,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Destroying evidence in an attempt to undermine a federal investigation is a crime the division takes very seriously.”
Perez’s plea is the fifth arising from the investigation, said federal officials. The other four individuals have been ordered to serve sentences ranging from 16 to 87 months.
Perez’s charge stem from an investigation into kickbacks made by Aviation Fuel and its employees to Wayne Kepple, the former vice president of ground operations for Ryan International Airlines.
According to court document, Perez worked for Aviation Fuel from June 2007 until March 2008 and was vice president of services. During that time, Kepple received kickback payments from Aviation Fuel on aviation fuel, services and equipment sold by Aviation Fuel to Ryan.
A sixth person, Sean Wagner, the owner and operator of Aviation Fuel, and Aviation Fuel itself were indicted on Aug. 13.