Irvine Inflight Entertainment Business Faces $1 Billion Federal Fraud Case
An Irvine company that supplies extremely lucrative inflight entertainment systems to airlines around the globe is fighting a federal lawsuit in Southern California that accuses it of engaging in racketeering, unjust enrichment and fraud exceeding $1 billion.
According to officials at Wamar International LLC, they were hired in 2012 by Thales Avionics, Inc. to do what it couldn’t do after years of trying: unseat Panasonic as the dominant supplier of in-flight entertainment packages in the prized Middle Eastern air market.
“Over the span of seven years, Wamar senior management secured over $2 billion in contracts [for Thales] with large airline and transport companies in the Middle Eastern region,” the 100-page lawsuit states. “Instead of paying outstanding, agree-upon consulting fees, the defendants have conspired to induce Wamar’s continued performance with no intention of ever paying what is owed.”
Lawyers for Thales have responded by seeking a quick dismissal of the court action inside Orange County’s Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse.
Read more: https://ocweekly.com/thales-rico-lawsuit-airlines/
