AeroVanti Founder Britton-Harr's contempt hearing delayed

After being found in contempt for a second time, AeroVanti Founder and CEO Patrick Britton-Harr could have been sent to jail earlier this week.

However, a hearing scheduled for July 31st was canceled.

According to the Business Observer, U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander approved a motion by Britton-Harr’s new lawyer for the delay.

A conference call to set a new date is now scheduled for Aug. 12th.

Britton-Harr’s prior counsel was permitted to leave the case in June.

The hearing generated interest from former members and employees of the grounded private aviation company, who wanted to know where tens of millions of dollars had gone.

Many members believed their flight funds were used for sports sponsorships.

Scott Hopes briefly served as CEO last summer and said AeroVanti had racked up around $50 million in debts.

However, the MLB and NFL clubs have since filed lawsuits against AeroVanti, alleging non-payment.

Private Jet Card Comparisons was the first to report that AeroVanti was grounded in June 2023 and had missed payroll for several weeks, which Britton-Harr disputed in interviews with other media.

That followed the first of more than a half-dozen lawsuits from members, beginning in May 2023.

In March 2023, the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field announced AeroVanti as its private aviation partner.

The Baltimore case is not directly related to AeroVanti.

Instead, it is part of a Justice Department lawsuit alleging fraud related to medical testing companies Britton-Harr was running.

The DOJ alleges Britton-Harr used funds gained from the medical companies to launch AeroVanti.