A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

A U.S. District Court in Texas convicted Debra Lynn Mercer-Erwin, owner of Wright Brothers Aircraft Title, and Aircraft Guaranty Corp. (AGC), of money laundering, wire fraud, and two counts of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine on Thursday, following a two-week trial.
Mercer-Erwin, a well-known figure in the business aircraft transaction community, served as a board member of the National Aircraft Finance Association.&nbsp;But according to the government, her Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based aircraft title and escrow services enabled cartels to use U.S.-registered aircraft that AGC held in trust to be used in the drug trade.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Following her arrest in 2020, the FAA suspended title transfers of more than four dozen aircraft held in trust at the direction of the Department of Justice, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the registrations of some 6,000 U.S. aircraft owned in trusts. AGC was a trustee to more than 1,000 such airplanes.
Mercer-Erwin was also found guilty of operating a Ponzi scheme as part of her money laundering, advertising aircraft for sale that were actually not available, and using escrowed funds to repay money deposited by previous would-be buyers. Co-defendants Kayleigh Moffett, Mercer-Erwin’s daughter, and Carlos Rocha Villaurrutia pleaded guilty in April. Mercer-Erwin faces up to life in prison.

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

Former Bizjet Escrow Exec Guilty of Drug Trafficking

Debra Lynn Mercer-Erwin was found guilty of money laundering, wire fraud, and two counts of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine.

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