Shreveport Business Owner Found Guilty of Making False Statements to the Federal Aviation Administration

From the U.S. Attorneys Office, Western District of Louisiana

SHREVEPORT, La. – After a week-long trial and 15 hours of deliberating, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict late yesterday afternoon against Edward L. Angel, Sr., 70, of Shreveport, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. The jury found Angel guilty on three counts of making false statements to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). United States District Judge David C. Joseph presided over the trial.

In addition to the three counts of making false statements that Angel was convicted of, he was also charged with 76 counts of theft of government funds from the Department of Veteran Affairs and Social Security Administration. After their long deliberation, the jury was deadlocked, could not reach a verdict on those 76 counts, and Judge Joseph declared a mistrial regarding those counts. As a result, the government plans to request a new trial date for the pending 76 counts.

Testimony at trial regarding the false statement charges revealed that Angel failed to disclose to the FAA his service-related disability of Primary Lateral Sclerosis, a neurological disorder, on his Application for Airman Medical Certificate on three separate occasions. These false statements were made on documentation submitted in order for him to obtain a medical certificate to lawfully pilot his airplane.

Angel faces a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 on the three FAA counts.  Sentencing on those counts has been set for April 26, 2024.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Department of Veteran Affairs Office of Inspector General, and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tennille M. Gilreath and Earl M. Campbell.