5 indicted for bribing Delta employee for JFK contracts

Five people have been indicted on bribery and money-laundering charges, with accusations that multiple companies engaged in payoff schemes to secure contracts with Delta Cargo at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. Investigations by the New York Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) uncovered three alleged bribery and money-laundering schemes involving fraudulent invoices and cash payments to bribe a high-level Delta employee, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Dec. 10. [caption id="attachment_57292681" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] (Courtesy/Delta Cargo)[/caption] The Delta employee who allegedly received the bribes has not been identified or indicted, according to the OAG. Delta Air Lines did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Indictment No. 1 The first indictment charges conspiracy, money laundering, scheme to defraud and commercial bribery against: Irfan Syed, chief executive of Jet Way Security and Jet Way Aviation Services; Beau Baer, senior vice president of Jet Way; and An unidentified co-conspirator, an executive of Alliance Ground International (AGI). The OAG additionally charged Syed and the co-conspirator with falsifying business records. If convicted, the three individuals face a maximum sentence of five to fifteen years in prison. Jet Way offers security at JFK Airport for airlines and their cargo operations. Cargo Facts received an out-of-office message from Baer’s email address after Jet Way was contacted for comment. AGI manages and provides workers for Delta’s cargo operations at JFK. AGI did not respond to a request for comment by press time. According to the indictment, Syed and the co-conspirator paid the Delta employee about $8,000 in cash every quarter from January 2018 through January 2023 in exchange for securing contracts with the airline. They reportedly created false invoices between their companies for about $25,000, which was then allegedly split three ways between Syed, the Delta employee and the co-conspirator. As Syed’s employee, Baer allegedly gave the Delta employee their bribe onsite at JFK. Syed and the co-conspirator also allegedly provided the Delta employee with quarterly trips to Las Vegas and annual trips to Atlantic City, during which they would pay for the Delta employee’s meals and other expenses. Indictment No. 2 The second indictment charges Raymond Kayume, CEO of Kennedy Advanced Professional Services (KAPS), with money laundering, scheme to defraud and falsifying business records. If convicted, Kayume faces a maximum sentence of sixteen months to four years in prison. According to the indictment, an unnamed vendor in the cargo industry promised to pay the same Delta employee 5% of all the vendor’s earnings from Delta business to continue securing contracts. To accomplish this, the vendor allegedly wrote checks to KAPS for nonexistent work. Kayume is accused of taking that money, keeping half and providing the other half to the Delta employee. The vendor has agreed to forfeit $1 million of proceeds, the AOG reported. KAPS did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Indictment No. 3 The third indictment charges Joseph Puzzo, a manager at American Compressed Gases (ACG), with money laundering, scheme to defraud and falsifying business records. If convicted, Puzzo faces a maximum sentence of sixteen months to four years in prison. ACG provides canisters of compressed gas that power forklifts used to move cargo. To maintain ACG’s business relationship with Delta Cargo, Puzzo allegedly paid $2 to $3 of bribe money per canister of compressed gas sold. He allegedly paid the bribe money to a third company for nonexistent consulting fees. That company reportedly kept half of the bribe money and sent the rest to the Delta employee by writing rent checks for office space the company was not actually renting. The charges in the indictments are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty in a court of law. Cargo Facts LATAM 2026, the essential event for stakeholders in Latin America, will take place Feb. 10-12 at the Marquis Reforma in Mexico City. Learn more and register by Dec. 26 to take advantage of early-bird pricing. Cargo Facts Asia 2026, the indispensable event for Asia-Pacific stakeholders, will take place March 23-25 at the W Shanghai. Learn more and register by Feb. 6 to take advantage of early-bird pricing. The inaugural Cargo Facts Routes and Airport Conference will take place April 27-28 at the Marriott Al Forsan Abu Dhabi. Learn more and register by March 13 to take advantage of early-bird pricing. Cargo Facts EMEA 2026, the key industry event for stakeholders in the EMEA region, will take place April 28-30 at the Marriott Al Forsan Abu Dhabi. Learn more and register by March 13 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

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