![]()
Private aviation membership club AeroVanti is embroiled in yet another legal scandal as a third CEO is indicted on felony charges.
AeroVanti was founded in July 2021 by Patrick Tormay Britton-Harr and by June 2023, it had grounded its fleet and largely began shutting down operations pending lawsuits. A complaint was filed against Britton-Harr by a group of customers on May 22, 2023, claiming he was using the company and a network of sham companies to promote private aviation memberships and a tiered membership-based program to solicit new members under false pretenses and misinformation without reimbursement. This complaint was just one of the many to come for the three men taking on the cursed role of CEO at AeroVanti. Scott Hopes joined as CEO in June 2023 and was fired from the role and replaced by the brother of the founder and former CEO, Todd Britton-Harr.According to the Bradenton Herald, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office began investigating Hopes in March 2023, months before he took on the CEO role. Hopes now faces three felony charges for notary fraud, grand theft and fraudulent use of public record.RELATED STORY:AeroVanti reportedly grounds fleet, faces lawsuitsBoth the Britton-Harr brothers and Hopes have faced charges before or after landing the role of CEO of AeroVanti. In July 2023, the Department of Justice filed a complaint against the AeroVanti founder alleging False Claims Act violations for submitting claims to Medicare for lab tests that were not ordered by health care providers, not medically necessary and sometimes not performed. The complaint alleged that Britton-Harr was operating Provista Health LLC and other corporate entities that sought to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic by offering tests to nursing homes to bill Medicare for a range of medically unnecessary Respiratory Pathogen Panel tests. He was also accused of sending these claims that were never ordered by physicians for patients who did not even show symptoms. There were over 300 claims that said the nasal swab test sample was supposedly collected after the beneficiary had died.
"The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable individuals and entities who exploited the COVID-19 pandemic for their own illicit purposes," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "We will continue to protect our federal health care programs, their beneficiaries, and taxpayers from fraud and abuse."
Even after his schemes fell apart, the DOJ said Britton-Harr continued to submit claims to Medicare through August 2021 for dates of service between April 3, 2020 and Sept. 17, 2020. In the late summer of 2020 Britton-Harr then transferred his financial gains from the schemes to his other companies and left the healthcare industry, using these proceeds to lease or purchase aircraft and found AeroVanti. When Hopes was fired Britton-Harr's brother Todd took the role of CEO and resigned days later. Patrick Britton-Harr returned to the helm of AeroVanti on Oct. 31, despite the ongoing battle with the DOJ. According to the Business Observer, prosecutors in Maryland asked a federal judge to approve a $30 million default judgment against Britton-Harr. Prosecutors asked for $21,488,743 in treble damages, which allows the U.S. government to collect up to three times the actual or compensatory damages, and an additional $9,402,464 in penalties. According to Private Jet Card Comparisons, a Maryland judge ruled Britton-Harr guilty by default judgment on Nov. 20, 2023.
Hopes took on the CEO role with a goal to rebuild. Private Jet Card Comparisons reports that Britton-Harr had accumulated up to $50 million in liabilities, including member payments for future flights, unpaid leases and unpaid sponsorships with sports teams like the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Private Jet Card Comparisons reported that Hopes posted a message about his termination on an AeroVanti Member Forum. Sharing he found out on Oct. 14 that only two out of more than 60 shareholders met, including founder Britton-Harr, to replace Hopes with his brother. Todd Britton-Harr responded to an email and said Hopes was fired for not raising funds or having a plan to get the AeroVanti fleet back in the air. The Bradenton Herald reported that Hopes, a former Manatee County Administrator, was accused of abusing his authority as notary public to knowingly falsify records; allegedly stole county property worth more than $10,000 but less than $20,000 between April 2021 and December 2022; and used access to public records or provided false information for a public record to commit a crime.
Hopes was replaced as CEO for a short time by Todd Britton-Harr. Britton-Harr came into his short-lived role with a prior record. In 2010 Britton-Harr was stopped at the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas in December 2010 and found with 46 bundles of marijuana, with a net weight of 465.97 kilograms. He was arrested and $58,000 in cash was seized. While his drug smuggling case was ongoing, Britton-Harr was convicted in a mortgage fraud scheme in Florida in 2012 and sentenced to four years in prison. His sentencing for his Texas offense ruled a 60-70 month sentence to run partially concurrent with his Florida sentence followed by four years of supervised release. He served as CEO for days before resigning and his brother took over again.
The company also drew the attention of the FAA over possible illegal charter operations. Private Jet Card Comparisons reports that AeroVanti was operating under Part 91F rather than Part 135 rules. The FAA reportedly sent letters to members as a probe into illegal charters.
While the three CEOs deal with a troubled criminal history, the company AeroVanti grapples with numerous complaints and lawsuits from former customers over fraudulent membership claims and services. The private and general aviation industry saw a boom during the pandemic, with more people previously not flying private or buying planes entering a new world and new industry. While AeroVanti joined in with the many promising new companies that emerged in aviation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the truth has come to the surface. AeroVanti's website account is suspended and the most recent social posts are the announcement that Hopes was selected as CEO.