DOJ says AeroVanti's Britton-Harr violated court order

According to a Department of Justice filing, AeroVanti Founder and apparently back again CEO Patrick Britton-Harr violated a court order not to dispose of a home he had an interest in.

Last August, the DOJ obtained a writ of attachment on the property in Annapolis, Maryland, not to “sell, dispose of, mortgage, transfer the title of, or otherwise encumber” the home.

According to court documents, The property was sold for $575,000 last September.

The property was owned by a company 50% controlled by Britton-Harr, with the remaining half owned by his wife, Tracy Deckman, according to the DOJ.

According to court documents from earlier this month, Britton-Harr has until Jan. 23, 2024, to “place $575,000 in the Registry of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.”

Last July, the government alleged fraud against Britton-Harr and several companies he controls.

The indictment was related to a Covid testing scheme, and the government alleges Britton-Harr used some of those monies to launch AeroVanti.

The DOJ issued a default judgment against Britton-Harr for $30 million last November.

More AeroVanti lawsuits

Additionally, AeroVanti has been hit with another batch of lawsuits following a spate of actions last Spring.

Naperville Avanti 1108 LLC filed a complaint on Nov. 20, saying it entered into an agreement to purchase a Piaggio P.180 for $1.1 million and then lease it back to the private aviation membership program.

The lawsuit alleges Aerovanti failed to make lease payments.

An Oct. 25 filing by MJBT Lending, LLC accuses Aerovanti of defaulting on a $1.5 million loan agreement to buy a P.180.

Another lawsuit was filed by Peter Rosenfeld in Sarasota, Florida.

In addition to Britton-Harr and related companies, Benjamin Ricketts was a salesperson for AeroVanti.

$50 million in debt

After exiting the CEO role during the summer, Britton-Harr was replaced by Scott Hopes.

Hopes promised members he would seek to restart the grounded membership program.

He had said AeroVanti had racked up as much as $50 million in debt.

Monies are owed to aircraft lessors, jet card members, trade creditors, and sports-related marketing partners.

Hopes was fired in October and replaced by Britton-Harr’s brother, who quickly resigned, with the founder retaking the helm.

Last July, we exclusively reported correctly that AeroVanti was grounded, which Britton-Harr disputed to other media outlets.

We also reported that a press release from AeroVanti in 2022 claiming it had raised $100 million in financing was untrue.

Despite the lawsuits and as many as 400 jet card members who didn’t receive the benefits they signed up for, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (above) still list AeroVanti as a partner on their website.

The AeroVanti website remains active.

Several sources say Britton-Harr continues promoting memberships in the flight program and a related yacht club.