The Department of Transportation is reporting a serial fraudster, who sold a clapped out 1950 Beech Bonanza as a pristine unicorn, has been sentenced to 44 months in prison and ordered to pay $33,279 to his victim by a South Carolina federal judge. Todd Van Natta, also known as Todd Stone, was indicted in 2024 along with his co-conspirator Mark A. Diblasi who admitted to pencil whipping an annual inspection that gave the 70-year-old airplane a clean bill of health. Diblasi got 36 months of probation and was ordered to pay $5,100 in restitution in a plea deal that included him hanging up his tools permanently.
According to an account by nickthepilot.com, Van Natta got hold of the Bonanza and Diblasi filled the maintenance logs with lies about inspections never carried out and the general condition of the old V-Tail. After the new owner kicked the tires, he hired a ferry pilot who happened to be an ex-cop and current FAASTeam volunteer to deliver the plane. The ferry pilot found obvious discrepancies with the plane and the owner reported it to the police and FAA.
An FAA inspector immediately grounded the plane noting “cracked windshields, corroded rivets, missing fasteners, dry-rotted tires, uncertified avionics installs, sloppy wiring dangling near rudder pedals, a damaged engine mount, and an airworthiness certificate so torn it was unreadable,” according to nickthepilot.com. The Bonanza deal was among at least four similar convictions for Van Natta involving a variety of tax, bank, and wire frauds that fleeced victims out of millions of dollars.
I doubt he’s the only one doing stuff like that.
There used to be a man named Robert Cullen at Corona Airport in California — he had 26 judgments and tax liens against him. He died of old age.
An appropriate pre-buy would have caught this before the ferry pilot showed up to fly the plane.
It sounds like an appropriate pre-flight would have caught most of the items.
I’ve paid for more than one, what was supposed to be an “appropriate prebuy” and the mechanics missed big time airworthiness issues. The prebuy is only good if the prebuy mechanic is honest and knows what their doing!
These guys are everywhere and always ready to swindle, steal, and cheat. GA is vulnerable to these scoundrels because it’s one of the few hobbies where relative wealth is combined with seriously impulsive purchases.
Excellent comment. We pilots sure will overlook a lot to feed our addiction.
Hi Russ, glad to see you back writing aviation content again. I’ll be reading it everyday.
Oof
The mechanic who pencil whipped it should have received a more severe penalty than the seller. Way more severe…
How does a salesman get 33 months and the mechanic that actually has the responsibility get probation? I read that Diblasi also did some shotty work and got someone killed 20 years ago when a tail separated from an aircraft he serviced. I am not defending the salesman, they are all crap, but the buck stops wirth the mechanic.
Another Baron Thomas deal
The Barron Thomas affair led to aircraft salesmen in Arizona needing to be licensed from the state. You have to have a bond in order to take earnest money.
Sounds about like the N35 I bought from Gary Gadberry from Chattanooga, TN back in the 1970’s.