Execs charged with $52mn fraud against Polar Air Cargo

Ten suspects, including four former senior executives of Polar Air Cargo, have been charged and nine arrested in connection with a massive, decade-long fraud scheme that cost the cargo specialist an estimated US$52m in lost revenue, the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York has announced. The suspects are facing up to 20 years in prison on fraud and money laundering charges for their alleged widespread scam "that led to pervasive corruption of nearly every aspect of the company's operations", the Department of Justice (DOJ) disclosed in a statement. Story lists names. Nine suspects were arrested, and eight have appeared in federal courts in New York, California, and Florida. Winkelbauer has been arrested in Thailand and is awaiting extradition to the United States, but Xu of West Covina, California, remains at large. According to the four-count indictment, the former Polar executives accepted US$23m in kickbacks or disbursements received due to their ownership of conflicted companies between 2009 and July 2021.<br/>