Carlton Llewellyn Sentenced for Role in Polar Air Cargo Kickback Scheme
Carlton Llewellyn, a former executive at Polar Air Cargo, was sentenced to six months in prison on Tuesday for his involvement in a scheme that defrauded the company of $33 million over more than ten years. Llewellyn, who previously served as vice president of operations systems performance and quality, pleaded guilty in January to one count of wire fraud.
He also agreed to forfeit $348,000 and repay nearly $306,000 to Polar.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman imposed a three-year supervised release, including six months of home detention monitored by GPS. He recommended that Llewellyn be assigned to a medium-security facility in Otisville, New York, with an expected surrender date of January 15.
Polar Air Cargo operates as a joint venture between Atlas Air and DHL Express, managing a fleet of eight large Boeing cargo jets, predominantly for DHL’s operations. Llewellyn, along with other executives, was implicated in accepting kickbacks from select customers and vendors in exchange for favorable contracts and services.
Other executives involved in the conspiracy have also faced serious consequences. Robert Schirmer, the former senior director of customer service for the Americas, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 200 hours of community service. Lars Winkelbauer, the former chief operating officer, was sentenced to four years after being extradited from Thailand. Patrick Lau, who led forwarder Cargo on Demand, previously received an 18-month prison sentence as well.
