A Miami-based American Eagle Airlines flight attendant accused of working under a fake name and passport was sentenced Friday to eight months in prison minus time served, a $200 fine, and three years probation.
Jophan Porter, 38, an illegal immigrant from Guyana, was also sentenced to pay off an $82,869 student loan he took out under another person's name while a student in central Florida.
He will be deported once released from federal custody.
Porter pled guilty on August 2 to federal charges of one count of providing a false statement on a passport application and one count of false claim of U.S. citizenship, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors say Porter flew the friendly skies out of Miami International Airport under the alias Anthony Frair, landing a job with American Eagle under Frair's name.
The real Frair lives in New York and claims he has never heard of Porter.
Porter was hired by American Eagle in March, allowing him to fly all over the world and have access to passengers' bags and the cargo area.
He was arrested in June at MIA after a trip to London and Dallas. He had a U.S. passport, three driver's licenses, an FAA certification, and American Eagle ID in Frair's name, police said.
Sentencing recommendation documents filed with the court state Porter lived and worked in the United States on and off for nearly the last ten years, graduating in 2009 from Schiller International University in Largo with a degree in hospitality.
It was there that he took out more than $80,000 in student loans in the name of another person. Porter told the courtroom prior to sentencing that he was in school again and was getting ready to graduate in eight months.
"All I wanted to do was make myself a better person," he said. "For ten years, I paid taxes and I didn't get in any trouble."
