Former aviation company owner pleads guilty to stealing from Miami-Dade Aviation Department

Luis Ramirez sentenced to 2 years of house arrest

MIAMI – The owner of an aviation company that performed services at Miami International Airport pleaded guilty Thursday to a grand theft charge.

Luis Ramirez, the former president, vice president, secretary and sole owner of Aviation Main Services, Inc., was charged with organized scheme to defraud over $50,000 and grand theft over $100,000.

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He was arrested in March for defrauding the Miami-Dade Aviation Department by misstating the company's gross revenues reported to the Miami-Dade Aviation Department and underpaying its opportunity fees. The losses to MDAD was more than $375,000.

Opportunity fees, which are set by the Board of County Commissioners, are 7 percent of gross revenues derived from ground support services and 3 percent of gross revenues derived from line maintenance services.

Prosecutors said Ramirez, whose private company provided ramp services to multiple cargo airlines and cargo clients at MIA, billed his customers the correct 7 percent opportunity fee for ground support services rendered, but he falsified records submitted to MDAD to make it appear as if AMSI had performed line maintenance services instead. He then paid MDAD the lesser 3 percent fee and pocketed the 4 percent difference, according to prosecutors.

While AMSI has provided services at MIA since 1992, the investigation only focused on losses from 2009 to 2015.

Prosecutors said Ramirez has since sold his majority interest in AMSI.

Ramirez was sentenced to two years of house arrested followed by five years of probation.

Prosecutors said he has paid more than $376,000 to MDAD in restitution, but still has to pay $45,000 for the costs of the investigation that led to his arrest.

"Mr. Ramirez is now paying a high price for trying to cheat the county," State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. "The Miami-Dade County Office of the Inspector General and my prosecutors are excellent at putting these types of criminal cases together for trial.  For governmental thieves, the message is, if you steal, be prepared to feel the heat, because we're coming for you."

Ramirez must also perform four hours of community service per month, is debarred from contracting with the county for the next five years and must stay away from all MDAD properties, including the airport, unless he is a ticketed passenger. 

 


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.