Two former owners of a Peachtree City flight school are facing felony charges after nearly 50 students reported that money from their training accounts had gone missing. Alex Hamlin, 34, and his father Harlan Hamlin, 59, both former owners of Flyt Aviation, were booked into the Fayette County Jail on September 4 on 20 counts each of theft by conversion and one count each of violating Georgia's racketeering act.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it believes several student accounts were misappropriated, including funds belonging to students who had scholarships or were enrolled in financing programs, according to Atlanta News First. The case traces back to complaints students filed about financial discrepancies in their Flyt Aviation accounts, discrepancies that GBI investigators say pointed toward a broader pattern of missing funds rather than isolated bookkeeping errors.
How a Local Complaint Became a State Racketeering Case
Peachtree City police requested that the GBI look into the matter in February 2025, after officers had already begun fielding student reports the previous November, according to WSB-TV. Those first complaints surfaced shortly after Flyt Aviation was sold to a new owner in October 2024, a transition that appears to have exposed underlying account discrepancies. Local officers eventually asked the GBI's Financial Investigation Unit to conduct a forensic audit before formally handing the case to state agents late last year.
That audit grew from a handful of student complaints into an investigation spanning nearly 50 alleged victims, per the same WSB-TV report. The GBI says the case remains under investigation and expects additional arrests, though no further suspects have been named.
From Delta Pipeline Partner to Criminal Defendants
Flyt Aviation operated its flight training programs out of Atlanta Regional Airport – Falcon Field in Peachtree City, an airport situated roughly 25 miles southwest of Atlanta, according to background reporting from AOPA. The school had built a reputation well beyond Fayette County: in June 2021, it earned designation as a Textron Aviation Cessna Pilot Center and was selected as a partner school in Delta Air Lines' Delta Propel pilot career path program, a pipeline that funnels flight academy graduates toward airline cockpits.
Harlan Hamlin, an instrument-rated multiengine pilot, provided industry contacts and early encouragement to help his son Alex establish the business in Peachtree City, AOPA's reporting notes. The two ran Flyt Aviation as a family operation before its 2024 sale, and both now face identical sets of charges tied to the alleged theft.
Why Student Accounts Held So Much Money
Flight schools require students to keep substantial prepaid balances on account to cover instructor time and aircraft fuel, since FAA Part 141 and Part 61 commercial pilot certification programs in metro Atlanta typically require between 190 and 250 flight hours before licensing, according to US Aviation Academy. Those balances can run high, and students relying on scholarships or financing arrangements have little visibility into how funds are actually spent once deposited.
The financial stakes driving students toward flight training remain steep on the other end, too: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a national median annual wage of $226,600 for airline pilots as of May 2024, per the same US Aviation Academy analysis, a figure that has fueled an ongoing commercial pilot shortage and pushed aspiring aviators to take out loans and scholarships to finish their training.
What the Charges Could Mean in Court
Under Georgia Code § 16-8-4, theft by conversion applies when someone lawfully receives funds earmarked for a specific purpose and knowingly diverts them instead, with conversions above $1,500 charged as felonies carrying one to five years in prison, according to Yeargan & Kert, LLC. Each of the 20 counts against Alex and Harlan Hamlin falls under that statute.
The racketeering charge carries far steeper exposure. Under Georgia Code § 16-14-5, a RICO conviction is a felony punishable by a mandatory five to 20 years in prison, along with fines of up to $25,000 or three times the financial gain from the alleged enterprise, according to Arora Law. Georgia's RICO statute is designed to target coordinated patterns of criminal activity carried out through a business or organization, rather than a single isolated act.
The GBI is asking anyone with information related to the case to contact its Regional Investigative Office in Midland, Georgia, at (706) 565-7888. Investigators have not disclosed the total dollar amount allegedly converted across the 20 counts, and it remains unclear how student scholarship providers or financing companies are handling accounts tied to the case. Both Alex and Harlan Hamlin face serious criminal exposure, but the charges against them remain allegations that have not been proven in court.
