Owner of Virginia flight school agrees to tax evasion plea

Photo of plans from American Aviation

The owner of a Virginia flight school agreed to plead guilty to tax evasion and pay $3.4 million in unpaid taxes and facing possible prison time just weeks after suddenly shutting down his school, leaving a number of staff unemployed and many students out thousands of dollars. Kevin C. Rychlik allegedly withheld some or all federal taxes he collected from employees at various businesses over a decade and has now taken a plea deal and faces sentencing in January.

Earlier this month, a flight school located in Northern Virginia abruptly shut down due to the owner’s health problems and business dept. Rychlik filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 6, citing business debt between $10 and $50 million. Students began speaking out after the owner, Rychlik, allegedly refused to issue refunds for prepaid packages. Thida Aung admitted to losing her $100,000 life savings after signing up for a 250-hour package. She told the AOPA that the deal was for $50,000, but he provided an additional $50,000 as a loan to the school to help finance a plan, with a written promise from Rychlik to repay her. Joshua McCreary told the AOPA that he has deposited $70,000 for a helicopter training package.

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The AOPA reported that Christian Brielmaier recovered about $5,000 of his deposit. Brielmaier had argued with his bank, stating that under Virginia’s consumer protection law, the no-refund policy was illegal if there was a failure to provide service. He also noted that Rychlik often announced special monthly sales, with a reduction for those buying training time in advance. Brielmaier told the AOPA that the last sale was announced on July 27, just days before closure and the declaration of bankruptcy.

A notice was sent to customers to announce the closure, explaining that Rychlik was dealing with serious health complications after a series of strokes. After reflection and exploring all possible scenarios, the flight school did not see a viable path forward and was closing immediately.

After the initial filing, court documents show that these were reported to be incomplete, and on Aug. 7, Rychlik was granted an extension until Aug. 20 with a hearing on Sept. 3. According to the AOPA, Rychlik’s bankruptcy attorney sought an extension of the deadline, citing health concerns in filings for each of the four pending cases. He noted that Rychlik needed to pace himself while completing these tasks after suffering several strokes.

Rychlik owned several businesses in Virginia and not all were aviation-related. Court documents named American Helicopters, Inc. and Security Associates International Limited. His aviation businesses have operated under different names over the years, including American Aviation LLC., American Helicopters & Aviation and American Aviation Manassas LLC. According to the AOPA, Rychlik also owned Fairfax Armory Inc., Gun Shop LLC, Performance Auto Center Inc., Rychlik Companies Inc. and Virginia Arms Company Inc.

The AOPA reports that Rychlik is scheduled to be sentenced on the tax evasion charge on Jan. 24 at the Albert V. Bryan US Courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. He was released from federal custody and now faces several conditions imposed by Judge Claude M. Hilton, including the removal of all firearms from his residence and that he provided all financial records to the court.