FLORIDA (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — A Miami air cargo company has paid just over $1 million to resolve federal allegations that it falsified delivery information for U.S. mail carried under Postal Service contracts, the Justice Department announced.
Sky Lease I Inc. agreed to pay $1,030,000 to settle claims under the False Claims Act tied to how it reported the transfer of U.S. mail to foreign postal services and other recipients. The company is headquartered in Miami and provides international air cargo services for government and commercial customers.
Federal officials said the case centers on contracts Sky Lease held with the U.S. Postal Service to move mail between domestic and overseas locations. Under those agreements, the company was required to take possession of receptacles of U.S. mail at several domestic gateways or at certain Defense Department and State Department locations abroad, then deliver that mail to international and domestic destinations.
To get paid, Sky Lease had to submit electronic scans or other delivery information showing when it transferred the mail to foreign postal administrations or other intended recipients. According to the government, some of those scans did not reflect the true time the mail changed hands.
The Justice Department alleged that from Feb. 16, 2019, through Aug. 1, 2023, Sky Lease “knowingly created and submitted, and/or caused to be submitted” delivery scans or other records that were material to payment but falsely conveyed the time the mail was turned over to foreign posts or other recipients under its international air contracts ICAIR191GG and ICAIR192GG.
“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that government contractors provide the services they have contracted to provide,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the department’s Civil Division said in announcing the settlement. He said that when contractors “knowingly fail to provide services for which they have been paid, the Department of Justice will pursue appropriate remedies” to address violations and deter future ones.
The Postal Service relies on commercial airlines and cargo carriers to safeguard and deliver U.S. mail overseas on tight schedules. Executive Special Agent in Charge Ken Cleevely of the USPS Office of Inspector General said his office “aggressively” investigates allegations of non-compliance in the mail delivery process, including falsified delivery information, and worked with Justice Department lawyers to reach what he called a reasonable resolution.
The settlement agreement states that half of the $1.03 million payment — $515,000 — is restitution. Sky Lease will make the payment by electronic transfer to the federal government.
In the written agreement, the United States releases Sky Lease from certain civil and administrative monetary claims related to the conduct described, including potential claims under the False Claims Act, the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, and several common-law theories such as breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The deal does not resolve any potential criminal liability, tax issues, or claims involving individuals, and it preserves the government’s ability to pursue suspension or debarment in federal contracting.
The company, for its part, denied the government’s allegations in the settlement document and did not admit liability. The agreement states it is neither an admission by Sky Lease nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well-founded.
As part of the resolution, Sky Lease agreed that certain expenses tied to the investigation and settlement will be treated as “unallowable costs” and cannot be billed back to the government under any current or future federal contract. The company also agreed to cooperate with ongoing federal investigations involving individuals or entities not covered by the release, including making current and former employees available for interviews and providing non-privileged documents on request.
The settlement agreement was signed in late October 2025 by Sky Lease President Alfonso C. Rey and company counsel, and in early November 2025 by Senior Trial Counsel Gregory Pearson of the Justice Department’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division.
Federal officials emphasized that the claims resolved by the settlement remain allegations only and that no court has made a determination of liability.
Click here to download the entire settlement agreement.
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