Jet Operator Files For Bankruptcy a Month After Its Founder Passed

As of October 9, Verijet has officially filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, with $10.5 million in unused jet card balances. The Florida-based charter and jet card operator has been in a downward spiral for years, most recently being hit with the passing of its founder, Richard Kane.

Founded in 2020, Verijet bet big on the single-engine Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet, envisioning a fleet of hundreds. For a brief, shining moment, it worked: the start-up climbed to become the 13th-largest US charter operator by 2023.

But the dream didn’t survive long. After Kane’s passing and a slew of unpaid bills, lawsuits, and grounded aircraft, Verijet’s once-lofty ambitions now sit neatly in a bankruptcy docket. The operator filed in the Southern District of Florida, listing $2.5 million in assets and a towering $38.7 million in liabilities.

The filing revealed that 81 jet card customers hold a collective $10.5 million in unused balances, with some clients owing nearly three-quarters of a million dollars. The average customer balance stood at about $130,000, though four particularly unlucky clients each had over $450,000 tied up in the business. Former employees, lessors, and fuel suppliers also joined the list of creditors waiting for money that likely won’t be coming anytime soon.

By mid-2025, Verijet’s fleet had shrunk from roughly twenty Cirrus jets to three, of which only one had flown in months. Flight tracking data showed its last recorded flight took place in August. Lawsuits have been piling up as well, including multimillion-dollar judgments and claims from jet card holders and vendors.

Even in the company’s fall from glory, Kane remained optimistic for its future. He floated talk of medical flight operations, claimed partnerships with transplant services, and even hinted at $85 million in fresh funding. The plans, following in jets’ footsteps, never really took off.

FMI: www.verijet.com