Former airline executive faces up to 5 years in jail for defrauding bank, creditors
NEWARK -- A former charter-airline executive from Marlboro admitted Wednesday he defrauded a Wayne bank of millions of dollars in a "double-dipping" scheme involving escrow accounts for passenger fares, Paul Fishman, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, said in a statement.
Robert Keilman, 43, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he's sentenced early next year.
Keilman, who co-founded Southern Sky Air & Tours, was serving as the airline's chief financial officer between January 2010 and September 2011 when he used an unnamed Wayne bank to deposit fares for flights. The airline was supposed to request the funds, also providing flight records, only after the trips were completed.
Instead, authorities said, Keilman, working with two other unnamed executives, requested the cash before the flights had run, and then again after the flights had been completed, using fraudulent documents in the scheme, he admitted in court Wednesday. He also sent fake documents to creditors in order to conceal the corresponding shortfall in the airline's accounts.
Keilman admitted defrauding the bank of between $3.5 and $9.5 million.
His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6.
Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaulMilo2. FindNJ.com on Facebook
