Major execs in Inflight embezzlement sentenced to prison

The two major executives of a now-defunct Valley Stream magazine and newspaper distribution business have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in looting the company for their own personal expenses.

Joshua Joffe, former vice president of Inflight Newspapers and Magazines, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn to 24 months, officials said.

Joffe also was ordered by U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein to make $1.9 million in restitution and serve 3 years' supervised release.

Remy Lehner, Inflight's chief executive, was sentenced in May to 6 months in prison by Weinstein, who also ordered her to pay $277,000 in restitution and serve 3 years' supervised release, officials said.

Lehner and Joffe had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government of taxes.

Before it went out of business in 2006, Inflight said it was the nation's largest provider of newspapers and magazines for passenger airplanes.

Lehner inherited the company from her husband, Daniel, who died in 1997.

Lehner's attorney, Charles Ross of Manhattan, said Wednesday that "Ms. Lehner is ready to move on with her life. She looks forward to putting this scenario behind her."

Joffe's attorney could not be reached for comment.

Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, declined to comment.

The scheme by Lehner and Joffe to embezzle money from Inflight was uncovered by investigators who were probing the 2004 Newsday circulation scandal, in which the paper's circulation figures were inflated. Inflight was one of the companies that distributed Newsday.