Court filings indicate convicted AeroVanti founder Patrick Britton-Harr is expected to seek a new trial.
Britton-Harr was convicted on six counts of wire fraud in early June.
Britton-Harr faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison per count, according to a DOJ press release.
A deadline to file paperwork has been set for July 30, 2026.
A hearing on the motion will be held on August 26, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
That was the date originally set for his sentencing.
The sentencing hearing in this case is continued until further order.
Britton-Harr’s motion for a new trial concerns alleged misconduct by a courtroom deputy clerk during his jury trial, which was held from May 18, 2026, to June 3, 2026.
In a July 2, 2026, letter to Judge Adam B. Abelson, Chief Deputy Clerk David E. Ciambruschini wrote, “Following the conclusion of the trial, court staff reported to me alleged conduct by the assigned courtroom deputy clerk that may have impacted your trial.”
The unnamed courtroom deputy clerk is no longer employed by the court, according to Ciambruschini.
The interactions between the former court employee and the jury followed Britton Harr’s father (pictured) referring to her as a “cattle herder,” which she later shared with the jury.
The letter also details several other interactions that may not have been appropriate, per the letter.
READ: Letter from Chief Deputy Clerk David E. Ciambruschini
Convicted
The jury in the most recent trial concluded Britton-Harr “defrauded (AeroVanti) customers by making false promises about how he planned to use their money.”
Top Gun members paid $150,000 upfront to help the company buy a plane in exchange for a block of discounted flight hours.
Britton-Harr promised to use their money to purchase specific aircraft.
He pledged to protect their money by delivering the aircraft titles to escrow.
The Top Gun members collectively paid approximately $15 million in upfront payments to purchase five aircraft.
However, Britton-Harr never purchased the aircraft.
Evidence at the trial, according to prosecutors, showed:
‘Instead of buying the aircraft, Britton-Harr misappropriated members’ money for his own personal benefit. This included purchasing yachts and jewelry, paying for his living expenses, and renting a $ 10,000-per-month home near Tampa, Florida. Evidence at trial further established that Britton-Harr then attempted to conceal his fraud by obtaining a $1.5 million loan to purchase one of the aircraft he had already claimed that he purchased with Top Gun member funds by withholding material information from the lender to obtain the loan.’
A former executive estimated that AeroVanti may have owed as much as $50 million.
That includes sponsorships with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Cubs.
Next Trial
Britton-Harr is facing a second trial in October.
That trial includes multiple counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering related to his participation in a scheme to bill Medicare for respiratory tests fraudulently.
The dates for that trial remain unchanged, according to court documents.
Open For Business
In advance of his trials, Britton-Harr was relaunching AeroVanti via a partnership with Dallas, Texas-based charter operator PlaneSmart.
Back in April, he emailed former members and prospects that PlaneSmart “has opened a satellite office at KSRQ and provided AeroVanti a Pilatus PC-12 aircraft to relocate and base it out of KSRQ starting as early as May 15, 2026.”
He had also launched BrixleyXchange.
According to two different people who answered the phone at PlaneSmart, Troy Britton-Harr, Patrick’s brother, has taken the helm from longtime CEO Patrick Brossler.
Per court documents, Patrick Britton-Harr is not currently in custody.
