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John Travolta’s aviation company, Constellation Productions, was defrauded out of nearly $800,000 between October 2021 and July 2023. That’s over R14 million.

One pilot is in jail after being charged with money laundering more than $100,000, committing organised fraud of property of more than $50,000, and committing grand theft of more than $100,000. The total charges reportedly stolen from the Grease actor were $785,050.

The poor guy is apparently “reeling” after this hectic scam, a source exclusively told In Touch Weekly.

As if that’s not enough, an additional loss of $64,650 was reported by Constellation Production’s accounting firm.

“This ordeal has been a shock to John,” says a source, “but he’s glad the scam was exposed. The detectives have done a great job.”

The other person involved in the scam is said to be on the lam. A Marion County Sheriff’s Office report says the two pilots, Jean-Paul LaCruz-Romero and Jorden Coursey, worked for Travolta’s Constellation Productions. The pilots were given company credit cards to buy fuel.

It was reported that a coworker of theirs contacted the authorities when he noticed the charges on those cards weren’t adding up, per Air Online:

A police report alleges that the pilots would pay for fuel and expenses for Constellation through Lux Fuels, a brokerage registered to Lacruz Romero’s wife.

According to the police report, an accounting review of the invoices from Lux and the actual FBOs revealed that the charges from the brokerage were inflated either through an incorrect report of gallons purchased, a change in price per gallon, or both. In addition, Lux Fuels invoices contained administration fees.

Further investigation revealed that some of the funds in the Lux Fuels account were transferred to an account held by JPL Aviation, managed by Lacruz Romero, the police report says. Money was also alleged to have been transferred to the second pilot, Coursey, either directly or from an Air Jorden company account.

Now, LaCruz-Romero is in the Marion County jail, charged with money laundering, grand theft, and fraud.

Much more than a Hollywood star, John Travolta is well known for his love of aviation and has quite a history with flying machines. He began taking flying lessons at just 15 and earned his first certification by age 22.

“Aviation has always bailed me out of anything in my mind that is blue. I can look through an airline schedule or brochure and cheer up,” the avgeek said to CBS News in 2008.

According to the Air & Space Museum, Travolta is now the holder of eight jet licenses, including the Boeing 747, Boeing 707, Gulfstream II, the Hawker 125, the Lear 24, 25, and 36, the British Vampire Jet, and the Canadair CL-41 Tebuan jet. He’s won numerous awards, been inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation, written a storybook about a boy’s first flight, and been dubbed the Official Ambassador of Aviation.

His home in Ocala, Florida – built in the 90s in the Jumbolair Aviation Estates, and now worth more than $10 million – is one of many surrounding Greystone Airport, a private airport featuring two runways.

[source:intouchweekly]