Director Pleads Guilty to Fraud Over Fake Plane Parts Sales

The director of a company at the center of a probe into the sale of counterfeit plane parts pleaded guilty to a charge of fraudulent trading.

AOG Technics Ltd.’s director, Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Monday wearing a blue suit and tie, speaking only to confirm his name and enter his plea. He was charged by the Serious Fraud Office earlier this year.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for February 23. The fraudulent trading charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

Read more: Fake Spare Parts Were Supplied to Fix Top-Selling Jet Engine

“This significant and audacious fraud threatened trust in the aviation industry and risked public safety on a global scale,” Emma Luxton, director of operations at the SFO, said.

Bloomberg News was first to report that airlines and maintenance shops had discovered parts with fabricated certification of origin, forcing them to remove components from engines.

Zamora Yrala, 37, was accused of defrauding customers by falsifying documentation that related to the origin, status or condition of aircraft parts while a director of AOG Technics between 2019 and 2023. The company’s customers included airlines, maintenance providers and parts suppliers, the agency said.

The scandal was discovered in 2023 by engineers at TAP Air Portugal’s maintenance subsidiary. While studying a CFM56 engine for repair, they noticed that a replacement part, which had paperwork saying it was straight off the production line, showed signs of wear.

Safran SA, which makes CFM engines with General Electric Co., determined that the paperwork had been forged.

That sent airlines scrambling to inspect their aircraft for so-called suspected unapproved parts. They were found on older-generation Airbus SE A320 and Boeing Co. 737 aircraft.

Zamora Yrala established AOG in Hove, England, in 2015, corporate records show. The SFO arrested the part-time DJ, who’s originally from Venezuela, in late 2023.

The agency is working with the Portuguese Procuradoria-Geral da República and the UK Civil Aviation Authority. The Portuguese investigation remains ongoing.

Photograph: AOG Technics Ltd.’s director Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala in June 2025; photo credit: Chris J Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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Fraud