CONCORD — A man who was accused of going around offering to sell planes that didn’t belong to him has been sentenced to house arrest, records show.
Faisal Tayeb, 29, pleaded no contest to two theft-related charges, based on an offer from a Contra Costa judge, court records show. As a result, he was given a year of jail but allowed to serve it on home detention, followed by a two-year probation sentence.
Tayeb was arrested and charged last year, after various pilots and plane aficionados reported that there was some chicanery going on at the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord. A tip from an airplane owner who learned of a pending sale of his plane and others who’d had similar experiences led the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office to Tayeb.
When deputies interviewed Tayeb, he claimed he was a broker putting plane sellers in touch with prospective buyers, according to court records.
But to deputies and prosecutors, it was plain theft. They say that investigators spoke to the owners of planes Tayeb had put up for sale, who insisted they had no interest in selling their aircraft. A keyring with dozens of keys and documents related to plane sales were later found in Tayeb’s possession, authorities said.