Thomas Root, the attorney who ditched his plane in the Atlantic Ocean last summer, stands indicted on 33 counts of fraud and other crimes involving radio stations he was representing before the Federal Communications Commission.
The federal indictment returned Wednesday accuses Root of defrauding the federal government and five clients in FCC proceedings on permits to construct FM radio stations throughout the United States.If convicted of all charges, Root, 37, would face a maximum 200 years in prison and an $8 million fine.
Root burst onto the public scene last July when his single-engine plane ran out of gas and plunged into the Atlantic off the Bahamas following a six-hour, 800-mile flight that began near Washington, D.C.
As Root was recovering from his ordeal, a series of financial and legal questions began emerging. Less than a week after the crash, Sonrise Management Services, a Columbus, Ga., company, sued Root for $584,000. It claimed he failed to perform work and double-billed a client.