SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Noah Felice, age 70, of Fayetteville, New York, was arraigned today after being charged in an indictment with lying to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Joseph Harris, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, and Christopher F. Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General.
According to the indictment, in September 2017, Felice made false statements to the FAA on a Form 8500-8, which is an application pilots submit to the FAA to renew their medical certifications. The indictment alleges that Felice stated on the form that he had no history of criminal convictions and had never received medical disability benefits, when he knew that he had been convicted of multiple prior misdemeanor offenses and was receiving disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The charge filed against Felice carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison; a fine of up to $250,000; and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
Felice appeared today in U.S. District Court in Syracuse, New York and was released by United States Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric on conditions of supervision pending further proceedings in the case.
The charge in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Sutcliffe.