Had Fraudulently Obtained ATP, CFI Certificates

An Iranian National was sentenced in federal court Monday to 27 months in federal prison for stealing the identity of an airline pilot and defrauding the FAA.

Nader Ali Sabouri Haghighi was convicted of identity theft. He had stolen the identity of a pilot and then duped the FAA into issuing him an ATP certificate and a flight instructor certificate. The federal prosecutor in the case said that the certificates allowed him to fly a plane for hire and teach others to fly in the United States.

But Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said there was no evidence of terrorism in the case, which led to what some maintain is a light sentence.

In a plea agreement, Haghighi admitted to four counts of identity theft before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt of the Southern District of Texas, who imposed the sentence of less than three years in prison. Haghighi had obtained a private pilot certificate in the past, but it had been revoked, according to a report appearing online in The Examiner. Court records indicate that he had been piloting an airplane that went down in Denmark in 2012 while using the fraudulently-obtained certificates. He had faced criminal charges in Denmark and in Germany. He fled to Iran, then Indonesia, and was finally arrested in Panama and extradited to the U.S. in 2014.

FMI: www.justice.gov