A Toronto man has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly posing as a pilot to obtain hundreds of free flights from major US airlines over a four-year period, in a case that has drawn comparisons to the Hollywood thriller “Catch Me If You Can”.
Authorities in Hawaii announced this week that 33-year-old Dallas Pokornik has been indicted for using a fraudulent employee identification from a Toronto-based airline to obtain standby tickets, despite only working as a flight attendant for that carrier from 2017 to 2019.
According to court documents, Pokornik is accused of even requesting access to the cockpit jump seat, which is normally reserved for off-duty pilots, despite not having an airman’s certificate. Federal rules prohibit the use of cockpit jump seats for leisure travel.
It remains unclear how Pokornik was able to convince the airlines he was still employed as a flight attendant years after leaving the industry. Typically, airline employees must present a government-issued ID and an employee badge linked to a database to confirm their status. However, the rules are more lax when the person is flying for personal reasons rather than work.
Pokornik, who was indicted on 2 October, was later arrested in Panama and extradited to the United States. The Department of Justice stated that the Department of Homeland Security and the US Marshals Service are investigating the case.
If convicted, Pokornik faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The case has drawn comparisons to the real-life story that inspired the 2002 film “Catch Me If You Can”, in which a con man successfully posed as an airline pilot, doctor and lawyer before being caught.
While airlines typically offer standby tickets to their own staff and those of rival carriers as a way to facilitate employee travel, the authorities allege that Pokornik exploited this system through fraudulent means. The implications of such security breaches are likely to be closely examined as the industry grapples with the fallout from this case.
