A former aircraft-parts broker was sentenced Monday to more than four years in prison for distributing tens of thousands of counterfeit components to airlines around the world, a scheme that forced carriers to ground planes and dismantle engines to locate suspect parts.
Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, the former director of AOG Technics Ltd., received a four-year, eight-month sentence at Southwark Crown Court in London. He had pleaded guilty in December to one count of fraudulent trading, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars. In court, Zamora Yrala spoke only to confirm his identity.
Prosecutors said the 38-year-old sold approximately 60,000 falsified aircraft components between 2019 and 2023, causing an estimated £40 million ($54 million) in losses.
Authorities described how Zamora Yrala operated the business from his home near London, supplying parts that were either entirely counterfeit or accompanied by forged documentation designed to conceal their true origin. Investigators said the scheme exploited vulnerabilities in the tightly regulated global aviation supply chain.
The case gained international attention after fabricated certification paperwork was uncovered. Airlines including Delta Air Lines (DAL), American Airlines (AAL) and Ryanair (RYAAY) (RYAOF) later identified AOG-supplied parts installed on their aircraft, triggering costly inspections and engine teardowns.
Some of the questionable components were fitted into CFM International’s CFM56 engines, which power widely used aircraft models such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. Engineers at TAP Air Portugal’s maintenance division first flagged irregularities in 2023, prompting a broader industry review as other carriers reported similar findings.
Safran (SAFRF) (SAFRY), which manufactures CFM engines through a joint venture with GE Aerospace (GE), has said that falsified documents were used to misrepresent the condition and origin of certain parts. The U.K. Serious Fraud Office raided Zamora Yrala’s residence later that year and arrested him on suspicion of fraud.
Corporate filings show Zamora Yrala founded AOG Technics in 2015 in Hove, a coastal town in southern England. The company presented itself as an established supplier, claiming operations in locations including the United Kingdom, Singapore, Frankfurt and Miami.
However, investigators said the firm had only a handful of employees, Zamora Yrala, his wife, her brother and a nanny, and that some customer communications were sent under names not formally associated with the business.
In certain instances, refurbished parts were allegedly sold with paperwork indicating they were new, enabling significant markups.
The CFM56 remains one of the most widely deployed commercial aircraft engines, with more than 20,000 still in service globally. Because aviation components circulate internationally, parts backed by forged certifications surfaced across multiple regions, including North America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
The Serious Fraud Office said forged documentation was discovered at maintenance and supply companies in the U.K., the U.S., Scandinavia, Germany and elsewhere, underscoring the far-reaching impact of the scheme.