Authorities in the United States have disclosed that a man from Toronto has admitted to deceiving airlines by pretending to be a commercial pilot to secure hundreds of complimentary flights, ultimately pleading guilty to wire fraud.
Court documents revealed that 34-year-old Dallas Pokornik utilized a counterfeit employee ID card to obtain free flights from three airlines spanning from January 2020 to late October 2024. Initially a flight attendant for a Canadian commercial airline, Pokornik has agreed to compensate the airlines as part of his plea agreement.
Last October, Pokornik was indicted on wire fraud charges in a federal court, subsequently being apprehended in Panama and extradited to the U.S. The indicted airlines, reportedly headquartered in Honolulu, Chicago, and Fort Worth, Texas, were not explicitly named.
A sentencing session for Pokornik is scheduled for December 8, where he could face a maximum of 20 years in prison, a potential fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release.
