Irfan Syed Indicted on 14 Felony Counts in JFK Bribery Scheme

Irfan Syed, the CEO of JFK-based Jet Way Security and Investigations LLC and Jet Way Aviation Services LLC, was indicted in December 2025 on 14 felony counts in a JFK bribery case brought by the New York Attorney General. Prosecutors allege he spent roughly five years funneling cash and trips to a senior Delta Air Lines employee in exchange for cargo contracts at the airport. He pleaded not guilty and faces up to fifteen years in prison if convicted on the top charge.¹

The Charges Against Syed

Attorney General Letitia James announced the indictment on December 10, 2025. Syed was charged alongside his Jet Way employee Beau Baer of Levittown and an unnamed executive at Alliance Ground International, the company that manages workers for Delta’s cargo department at JFK.²

Syed’s 14 counts are:³

Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree
Conspiracy in the Sixth Degree
Money Laundering in the Second Degree
Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree
Commercial Bribing in the Second Degree
Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (nine counts)

Baer faces the same charges except for falsifying business records. The unnamed Alliance Ground International executive faces an identical slate to Syed’s. On the top charge, Syed and that co-conspirator each face five to fifteen years in prison.²

How the Alleged Scheme Worked

The indictment covers roughly January 2018 through January 2023 and centers on a single high-level Delta employee with influence over cargo contracts at JFK.³ According to prosecutors, Syed and the Alliance Ground International executive arranged for Jet Way to send fraudulent invoices to Alliance Ground International, usually around $25,000 each and labeled as “consulting fees.” No consulting work was actually performed.⁴

The proceeds from each quarterly invoice were allegedly split three ways. About $8,000 in cash went to the Delta employee, and the rest was divided between Syed and the co-conspirator. Baer, a director-level employee at Jet Way who reported to Syed, allegedly hand-delivered the cash to the Delta employee at JFK.¹ Over roughly five years, the fraudulent invoices totaled about $375,000.⁴

The indictment also alleges the group covered the Delta employee’s expenses on quarterly trips to Las Vegas, annual trips to Atlantic City, and trips to Miami.¹ On August 7, 2023, prosecutors say, Syed personally handed the Delta employee $60,000 in cash at the Jet Way offices in Nassau County, packaged in six envelopes of $10,000 each.³

The Other Defendants and the Delta Employee

Syed’s case is one of three schemes announced the same day, all involving the same Delta employee. Raymond Kayume of East Northport allegedly laundered kickbacks for a corporate cargo vendor through his company, Kennedy Advanced Professional Services; that vendor has agreed to forfeit $1 million in proceeds. Joseph Puzzo of East Northport, a manager at American Compressed Gases, allegedly paid the Delta employee $2 to $3 for every gas canister sold to Delta, routed through a third party and disguised as consulting fees and rent for nonexistent office space.²

Across all three schemes, prosecutors say the Delta employee received more than $250,000 in cash plus the travel perks. That employee had not been charged as of December 2025.⁵ The investigation was run jointly by the Attorney General’s office, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Office of Inspector General, and Homeland Security Investigations.⁴

Where the Case Stands

Syed, Baer, Kayume, and Puzzo were arraigned on December 10, 2025, before Queens County Supreme Court Judge John Zoll, and all four pleaded not guilty. The unnamed Alliance Ground International executive had been charged but not yet arraigned as of that date. Defense attorneys had not publicly commented on the charges. Delta Air Lines said it is cooperating fully with law enforcement.¹ The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Who Is Irfan Syed

Syed, a resident of Lloyd Harbor on Long Island, serves as CEO of both Jet Way Security and Investigations LLC and Jet Way Aviation Services LLC.¹ Founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York with offices at JFK, Jet Way provides passenger handling, cargo support, ramp operations, and security services to airlines and ground handlers at the airport, including Delta and Alliance Ground International.⁶ The company states it is licensed and recognized by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.⁷

1
Newsday. Bribery JFK Delta Case
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QNS. Cargo Company Execs Indicted for Bribery and Money Laundering at JFK Airport
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New York Attorney General. New York v. Irfan Syed and Beau Baer Indictment
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New York Attorney General. Attorney General James Announces Takedown of Bribery and Money Laundering Schemes
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Yahoo News. JFK Cargo Company Bosses Bribed Delta Employee
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Jet Way LLC. Jet Way Home
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Jet Way LLC. About Jet Way