Fraud and Faulty Aircraft Repair Grounds Weygandt
By Jeff Pizzino, APR, Corporate Communications –
Former WECO Aerospace Systems President William Weygandt is spending two and a half years behind bars for fraudulent repair of aircraft parts.
While we often talk about fraud and corruption in government, there are cases from other industries. The world of capitalism is full of opportunities for individuals to defraud. Many take advantage of opportunities without thought of endangering others.
One such case is the airline parts industry. In early July 2014, Central Valley Business Times reported that William Weygandt, former president of WECO Aerospace Systems Inc., had been imprisoned on fraud charges. Specifically, he was sentenced to two and a half years for fraudulent repair of aircraft parts. Reports indicated that he was in a position to put an end to fraudulent behavior and refrained from doing so.
Violated FAA Guidelines
What Weygandt’s organization failed to do was to follow Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements for repair. In fact, allegedly WECO didn’t have possession of the tools and equipment needed to test their aircraft parts after repairs were done.
Since these allegations surfaced, WECO’s certification to repair aircraft parts has been suspended and additional WECO executives and former executives have been apprehended for the same fraudulent behavior.
The problem with this case is that not only is WECO affected, but so are potentially thousands who would fly in airplanes with parts that were falsely reported as passing FAA regulations. These FAA regulations intend to keep passengers safe, and without the bona fide parts, airplanes do not pass safety regulations. Thankfully, there were no evidentiary casualties or injuries related to Weygandt’s case.
On-Going Deception Detection Needed
To prevent fraud and corruption, organizations that provide public health and safety-related services should conduct ongoing deception detection exams.
EyeDetect™ has been shown to have 85% accuracy in detecting deceptive individuals. Identifying corrupt individuals is the first step to creating organizations with cultures of integrity and honesty.
