Unfriendly skies for JetSmarter

JETSMARTER, touted as the Uber of aviation, has a curious background, with investors such as the Saudi royal family and Jay-Z, and an endorsement from Kim Kardashian. The founder and CEO, Sergey Petrossov, 30, is the son of

Vatchagan Petrossov, who served 15 years in Russian prisons, according to Robert Friedman’s “Red Mafiya,” published by Little, Brown in 2000.

Vatchagan settled in Denver, where he opened a restaurant popular with Russian expats. Vyacheslav Ivankov, aka Yaponchik,who’ s been called the John Gotti of the Russian mob and once had a crew of 100 soldiers in Brighton Beach, “frequently traveled to Denver, where he stayed at Petrossov’s home, even using his address to apply for a Colorado driver’s license,” the book reported.

Sergey says the book overstates his father’s connections. “False rumors about my father’s involvement with organized crime when I was 7 years old are an attempt to maliciously attack my character,” he said in a statement. “My father, an immigrant . . . who opened the first Russian restaurant in Denver, did not control the patrons that visited his restaurant and was no way affiliated with them beyond serving them like he would any other customer.”

The entrepreneur said his dad has never had any involvement or association with JetSmarter.

Other issues have arisen for the 7-year-old company. Its president, Edward Gen

nady Barsky, resigned in 2017, after being arrested on charges of embezzling $11 million from a California company. Barsky was indicted in June 2017 on five counts of grand theft. He pleaded not guilty and is free on bond.

JetSmarter faces a slew of lawsuits from dissatisfied customers and may be sold for as little as $20 million.

“Recent reporting has contained false information, and the company has clearly been the subject of a targeted and fabricated campaign,” a spokesman said.