Florida shop owner jailed following new fraud charges

The latest felony charges against Smith, 32, are the same as the first set: grand theft, fraud, and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. Smith's first arrest on July 31 followed a police investigation of the alleged theft of nearly $65,000, and the alleged attempted theft of another $60,000, from Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1240 in Sebring where he served as chapter treasurer. He established a business, Hendricks Field Aviation, on the grounds of Sebring Regional Airport in 2021, state records show.

According to police and court records, Smith was arrested on new charges on October 22, after police investigated a more unusual crime—the 514-day impoundment of an LSA that included many conversations with the owner, Logan Kugler, via phone, text, and email, and that culminated in Kugler's August 15 visit to Smith's shop, housed in a pair of hangars, two weeks after Smith's initial arrest.

"Justin Smith took custody of my airworthy airplane that was recently appraised at approximately $200,000, and over the course of more than 500 consecutive days of extraordinary deception, deceit and malicious behavior, he reduced it to salvage," Kugler wrote in an email to AOPA accompanied by an arrest report, documents detailing the extended timeline of the purported annual inspection, as well as notes on related communication Kugler had with FAA officials and others while attempting to verify some of Smith's representations to him.

On August 15, visiting Sebring in person for the first time since Smith flew the airplane there from Naples, Florida, Kugler began to find out that, despite hundreds of claims of work performed and a $4,957.16 invoice paid in July 2025, there was no evidence any work on the aircraft had been completed. Kugler took custody of his aircraft on August 18 "with airport assistance," and secured it elsewhere on the field. The Hobbs meter on Kugler's aircraft had not increased by even a tenth of an hour since March 22, 2025. More than 38 distinct engine operations Smith had claimed to have conducted, many detailed in written reports to the owner, others by phone, email, or text, were contradicted by the Hobbs meter.

"Every single thing he told me he was actively doing to maintain the airplane turned out to be fiction—keeping the tires inflated, keeping the battery on a tender, etc. When I found the plane on Aug 15, the nose tire was completely flat, the mains were severely deflated, there were heavy cob webs all over the airplane, and despite Justin’s stories that he was working on the airplane every week, it seemed pretty clear it hadn’t moved from the satellite hangar he stuffed it into for many months," Kugler wrote in an email.

Kugler obtained an ADS-B performance report from the FAA that confirmed the aircraft had not flown since the date it arrived in Sebring. He contacted various FAA officials who refuted Smith's claims that they or others at various FAA offices had been involved in any alleged conversations with Smith about airworthiness issues, among the many reasons given for the delayed return of an airplane that had been expected back in Naples in less than a week.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the investigating officer personally examined Kugler's aircraft on September 11, observed the download of flight data, and reviewed documents including text messages exchanged between Kugler and Smith. "I completed a review of the aircraft's maintenance records, invoices, photographs, videos, FAA-related records, manufacturer communications, and other supporting documentation. The investigation identified multiple representations made by Smith concerning maintenance, repairs, engine operation, test flights, FAA certification, and the anticipated return [of the aircraft] that were contradicted by, or could not be substantiated through, independent evidence… The evidence also established that Smith continued communicating with Kugler and providing explanations for the continued retention of the aircraft after Kugler repeatedly demanded its return."

Kugler reflected on his experience in a follow-up email.

"I obviously wish I would have visited the airplane sooner, but hindsight is 20/20," Kugler wrote. "I simply did not suspect I was being conned. It was so far outside of my view screen that being lied to by Justin was even a possibility. He always had a perfect answer for every question, and I ask a lot of questions. I trusted him implicitly. It’s been very difficult coming to terms with the fact that almost everything he ever told me over 70 hours of phone calls was a lie... He spent multiples more time talking with me about problems he invented with my airplane than actually working on my airplane."

Smith appeared October 23 before Circuit Judge Angela J. Cowden, who revoked his bond pursuant to a Florida law and related legal case that gives judges discretion to revoke a defendant's pretrial release if there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed a new offense. He is scheduled to appear before Circuit Judge David Ward, who presides over both of Smith's criminal cases, in Sebring on November 6 for a hearing on his attorney's motion to reinstate bond. Smith's attorneys did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment.

Attorney Drew Davis's motion to reconsider Smith's detention does not address any of the specific allegations in either case, basing the request on the fact that "the subsequent charges arise from circumstances that began more than one year before Defendant's original arrest, rather than an entirely new course of conduct initiated following his release."

Kugler was far from alone in trusting Smith, who had been a fixture in the airport Sebring Regional Airport community since he was first hired by Lockwood Aviation as a college intern, and brought on full-time after graduation. He worked until 2022 for the company founded and still owned by Phil Lockwood, the designer and builder of the AirCam. A promotional video posted in 2020 by SiriusXM Aviation features Smith, identified as the lead engineer for AirCam, telling his aviation story.

"It's more than something we're talking about," Lockwood said of Smith's arrests and alleged offenses, in a telephone interview. "It's created quite a stir on the airport, and it's a pretty big mess."

Smith, who served as the EAA chapter's treasurer, stands accused of emptying every bank account held by the chapter, including accounts used to support a local high school program that brings 50 students to the airport for various classes including ground school, computer-aided drafting, engine maintenance, and related topics. Lockwood said "a number of people" have donated funds to keep the chapter solvent, and "there are three of us [who] have been involved in that chapter for a long time, [who] have basically committed to keep it solvent, to keep the youth program going. I have no doubt that we'll get through it."

Lockwood said beyond the tens of thousands of donated dollars lost, there were several aircraft on the field (in addition to Kugler's) waiting for Smith's attention, grounded pending tasks ranging from routine maintenance to assembly, airworthiness certification, and delivery. There were perhaps as many as eight such aircraft, some in Smith's hangar, others elsewhere at the airport, Lockwood said, calling the number a "rough guess." His company has assisted several affected owners in completing required work or arranging for that. "Most of them are probably being taken care of," Lockwood said. One of the two young mechanics who worked for Smith at Hendricks Field Aviation has found a new job out of state, Lockwood said, and his company hired the other. Nobody in the airport community has any reason to believe that Smith's staff or family knew of any illegal or unethical activity, much less participated in it, Lockwood said.

As of November 4, Hendricks Field Aviation was still listed as an authorized service center on the Bristell website, though Lou Mancuso, the CEO of Bristell Aircraft USA, wrote in an email responding to an inquiry that Bristell and Smith "no longer have a [relationship], Thanks for letting me know he is on our web site." Lockwood and Kugler said Smith performed final assembly, certification, and delivery services for two other European aircraft manufacturers. Searches of those websites found no indication of a current business relationship with Smith or his company.

Smith's arrest in July was the first felony charge against him recorded in county records. Previously, he was issued a speeding ticket in 2014 and another infraction related to boating safety ID cards in 2013. He was issued an A&P certificate in 2022, according to FAA records, and inspection authorization in February 2025; Smith holds a first class medical certificate issued in July, and a private pilot certificate with multiengine and seaplane ratings issued in 2019. The FAA lists Smith's address on the grounds of the Country Club of Sebring.

"A lot of people were doing business with him," Lockwood said. "I never imagined that he would do something like this. I don't think his wife really knows what's going on to this day … she's a super nice gal from a nice family. There's too many pieces of the puzzle that are still missing for me... It's just strange because he's a smart kid, I mean, how could he think he wouldn't get caught?"