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Aviation Company Owner Charged With Defrauding Miami Int'l Airport

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The former owner of an aviation company is facing charges for a scheme to defraud the Miami International Airport.

Through a joint investigation, authorities arrested Luis Alberto Ramirez, accusing him of falsifying records to minimize payments through his company Aviation Main Services, Inc.

Investigators, along with Miami-Dade County auditors, said they discovered that Ramirez had "misstated" the company's gross revenues to the Miami-Dade Aviation Department in order to pay smaller opportunity fees. AMSI provided ramp services to cargo airplanes at MIA, including aircraft towing, parking, and other ground support services.

Officials estimate from 2009 to 2015, the fees avoided by AMSI amounted to more than $375,000.

"This case is a message for those who think they can cheat our local government and get away with it," said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "There will be a high personal cost for those nickels, dimes and dollars fraudulently siphoned from taxpayers, because you will be arrested and you will find yourself standing inside a jail cell. Investigators, like those at the Miami-Dade County Office of the Inspector General, and my prosecutors will see to that."

Ramirez was charged with Grand Theft of more than $100,000 and Organized Scheme to Defraud more than $50,000. Both are 1st degree felonies.

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