Two former owners of FLYT Aviation in Peachtree City, Georgia, were arrested Friday, September 4, 2026, following a lengthy investigation into student training funds. Alex Hamlin, 34, and Harlan Hamlin, 59, each face 20 counts of theft by conversion and one count of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Both were booked into the Fayette County Jail. Investigators allege that student accounts — including scholarship funds and financing — were misappropriated during the men’s operation of the school. Nearly 50 alleged victims came forward during the investigation, and authorities have said additional arrests are expected.
Both men are charged, not convicted, and are entitled to the presumption of innocence. No pleas have been reported.
How the Investigation Developed
The timeline, per the GBI and the Peachtree City Police Department:
October 2024 — FLYT Aviation is sold to a new owner.
November 2024 — Peachtree City police begin receiving reports from students who said the money they had paid for flight training did not match their account balances.
Through 2025 — As complaints accumulate, local investigators request assistance from the GBI’s Financial Investigation Unit to conduct a forensic financial audit. Nearly 50 alleged victims file reports.
Late 2025 — After roughly a year of local investigation, the case is formally turned over to the GBI.
September 4, 2026 — GBI agents and Peachtree City officers arrest both men.
Investigators said the forensic audit found evidence that several student accounts, including scholarship and financing funds, were allegedly misused while the men operated the business.
The investigation remains open.
Why RICO
Georgia’s RICO statute is broader than the federal version and doesn’t require organized crime in the conventional sense. It applies where prosecutors allege a pattern of related criminal activity conducted through an enterprise — which can include a legitimate business.
Theft by conversion, the other charge, applies under Georgia law when someone lawfully obtains money or property under an agreement to use it in a specified way and then knowingly converts it to their own use. That maps onto the allegation here: students paid money into training accounts for a designated purpose, and prosecutors allege it went elsewhere.
Twenty counts suggests prosecutors have identified twenty specific transactions or accounts they believe they can prove individually, with the RICO count alleging the pattern connecting them.
The Broader Vulnerability
Whatever the outcome of this case, it exposes a structural risk in flight training that most students never think about.
Flight schools routinely hold large sums of student money. Prepaid block time, account balances, and deposits are standard practice — often because schools offer a discount for paying in advance, and students accept it as a way to reduce a large total cost.
Those funds are usually unprotected. Unlike a bank deposit, money in a flight school account carries no federal insurance. In most states there is no requirement that student funds be held in a segregated or escrow account, meaning prepaid balances can be commingled with operating capital and spent on payroll, fuel, maintenance, or anything else.
Students are often the last to know. Account balances are typically visible only through the school’s own system. A discrepancy between what a student believes they have and what actually exists may not surface until they try to draw it down — or, as here, until the business changes hands.
Scholarship money is especially exposed. Scholarship and financing funds are frequently disbursed directly to the school rather than the student, which means the recipient may never handle the money and has limited visibility into how it’s held.
This is not a rare failure mode. Flight schools close, sell, and enter financial distress with some regularity, and students with large prepaid balances are typically unsecured creditors — near the back of the line.
What Students Can Do
Practical steps that reduce exposure, regardless of how this particular case resolves:
Be cautious with large prepayments. The discount for prepaying a big block is real, and so is the risk. Consider whether a smaller block, replenished more often, is worth the slightly higher rate.
Ask how student funds are held. A school that segregates prepaid student money from operating accounts is meaningfully safer than one that doesn’t. Schools with good practices are generally happy to explain them.
Keep independent records. Save receipts, invoices, and statements. Reconcile them against the school’s stated balance periodically rather than assuming the system is right.
Watch for warning signs. Delayed maintenance, aircraft down for extended periods, instructor departures, and difficulty getting a straight answer about your balance are worth taking seriously.
Pay attention to ownership changes. A sale is a moment when balances and obligations get examined. If your school changes hands, confirm in writing that your balance carries over and is honored.
Understand your financing. If a lender disburses directly to the school, know the schedule and confirm the school received and credited it.
Report discrepancies early. The students in Peachtree City who contacted police in November 2024 started a process that took nearly two years to reach arrests. Discrepancies raised early are more recoverable than discrepancies raised late.
For Flight School Operators
The case is also a prompt for operators running legitimate businesses:
Segregating student funds is a competitive advantage, not just an ethical practice. It’s something you can tell prospective students that many competitors can’t.
Transparent account access builds trust. Students who can see their balance and transaction history independently are less likely to develop the suspicion that erodes a school’s reputation.
Document scholarship handling carefully. Third-party funds warrant a clear audit trail from receipt through application.
The reputational damage from cases like this doesn’t stay contained to one school. It reaches every prospective student who reads the coverage and wonders whether prepaying at their local school is safe.
The Bottom Line
Alex Hamlin and Harlan Hamlin face 20 counts of theft by conversion and one RICO count each in connection with student funds at FLYT Aviation in Peachtree City, Georgia. Nearly 50 alleged victims came forward, the GBI conducted a forensic financial audit, and authorities say the investigation continues with additional arrests expected.
The charges are allegations. Both men are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
For the broader flight training community, the case is a reminder that prepaid student funds sit in an unusually unprotected position — and that both students and schools have straightforward steps available to reduce that risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the former FLYT Aviation owners charged with? Alex Hamlin, 34, and Harlan Hamlin, 59, each face 20 counts of theft by conversion and one count of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. They were arrested September 4, 2026 and booked into the Fayette County Jail. The charges are allegations, and both men are entitled to the presumption of innocence.
What is FLYT Aviation? FLYT Aviation was a flight school formerly located in Peachtree City, Georgia. According to the GBI, the business was sold to a new owner in October 2024. Peachtree City police began receiving reports from students the following month regarding discrepancies between money they had paid for flight training and their account balances.
How did the investigation begin? Peachtree City police began receiving student complaints in November 2024, shortly after the school changed ownership. As reports accumulated, local investigators requested assistance from the GBI’s Financial Investigation Unit to conduct a forensic financial audit. Nearly 50 alleged victims eventually filed reports, and the case was formally turned over to the GBI in late 2025 after roughly a year of local investigation.
Is prepaid flight training money protected? Generally not. Unlike bank deposits, prepaid flight school balances carry no federal insurance, and most states do not require schools to hold student funds in segregated or escrow accounts. That means prepaid balances may be commingled with a school’s operating capital. Students with large prepaid balances at a school that fails or is sold are typically unsecured creditors with limited recourse.
How can student pilots protect their training funds? Consider limiting the size of prepayments even when discounts are offered, ask whether the school segregates student funds from operating accounts, keep independent records of all payments and reconcile them against the school’s stated balance, watch for operational warning signs such as extended aircraft downtime or instructor turnover, confirm in writing that balances carry over if the school changes ownership, and report any discrepancy promptly rather than waiting.
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