Jald Jensen
Introduction
Jald Jensen, 73, of Panama City and previously of Van Nuys, California, a former regional sales manager for aircraft-maintenance firm BizJet International Sales and Support, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for his role in a scheme to pay bribes to government officials in Latin America to secure business for the company. Jensen was extradited from Panama to the United States in September 2026 to face charges stemming from a 2012 indictment, and his guilty plea — announced by the Justice Department on October 30, 2026 — marks the final conviction in a case that has run for well over a decade.
Background Information
Between 2004 and 2010, Jensen worked as a regional sales manager for BizJet, the U.S.-based subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG, which provides aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul services. During that period BizJet served customers in Latin America, Mexico, and Panama — including the air fleet for the Mexican President, the Mexico Federal Police, the Governor of the Mexican State of Sinaloa, and the Panama Aviation Authority, according to court documents cited in the announcement. Jensen’s responsibilities included obtaining new business and maintaining and increasing existing business.
The scheme’s mechanics, per the court documents: Jensen bribed foreign officials with authority and influence over contract awards, and conspired with others to unlawfully direct business to BizJet. He then conspired with others to conceal and funnel money to the foreign officials through various bank accounts throughout the United States, including through his own shell company, Avionica International & Associates Inc.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Pleaded guilty; sentencing pending. Jensen admitted the conspiracy in 2026, fourteen years after the indictment, following his extradition from Panama. The conduct at issue dates to 2004-2010; the plea is the in-window event.
The case’s corporate chapter closed long ago: in 2012, BizJet entered a deferred prosecution agreement and paid a criminal penalty of $11.8 million. Between 2012 and 2013, three of Jensen’s co-conspirators pleaded guilty to their roles in the schemes — Bernd Kowalewski, the company’s former President and Chief Executive Officer; Peter Dubois, former Vice President of Sales and Marketing; and Neal Uhl, former Vice President of Finance. Jensen, by contrast, remained beyond the court’s reach until his September 2026 extradition from Panama, arranged through the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
Jensen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA. The court will schedule sentencing for a date in 2027, and he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, with any sentence to be determined after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Public Reaction and Consequences
“This defendant and his co-conspirators put profits above ethics and fair competition,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Mr. Jensen’s arrest, extradition, and guilty plea marks the final conviction in this long-running case. We will continue to enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by aggressively pursuing those who use bribery and corruption to gain an unfair advantage in international business.”
“Yesterday, Jensen finally faces justice for his yearslong scheme to bribe foreign government officials to win business for BizJet,” said Assistant Director in Charge Darren Cox of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “His plea reflects the FBI’s long memory and global reach.” U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Nassar for the Northern District of Oklahoma, where the 2012 case was brought, thanked the law enforcement partners whose coordinated efforts made the extradition possible. The FBI’s Washington Field Office International Corruption Unit investigated.
Current Status
Jensen awaits a 2027 sentencing date following his guilty plea to the FCPA conspiracy count, with a five-year statutory maximum. His extradition from Panama in September 2026 ended more than a decade during which the 2012 indictment’s other named executives had resolved their cases while Jensen remained abroad. The plea is the last conviction the long-running prosecution will produce, per the Justice Department’s announcement, closing a case whose corporate penalty was paid in 2012 and whose individual defendants have now all pleaded.
Impact on Their Career/Life
Jensen’s sales career at BizJet ended with the scheme it documented; the conduct to which he pleaded guilty — bribing the officials who controlled aircraft-maintenance contracts across Mexico and Panama, with money laundered through his own Avionica shell company — now carries a felony conviction and a pending federal sentence at age 73. The case’s arc, from a 2012 deferred-prosecution agreement and $11.8 million corporate penalty to a 2026 extradition and plea, stands in the record as the FCPA enforcement the Justice Department says it will continue to pursue against executives who treat foreign bribery as a sales function.