In brief
Dallas Pokornik, a former flight attendant for a Canadian airline, has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly impersonating current airline staff to obtain free flights on U.S. carriers. The scheme reportedly spanned over four years, utilizing fake identification. Authorities are investigating further.
HONOLULU (AP) — A former flight attendant from Canada, Dallas Pokornik, has been arrested for allegedly posing as both a current flight attendant and a commercial pilot to obtain hundreds of free flights from various U.S airlines.
At 33 years old, the Toronto resident was detained in Panama following an indictment on wire fraud charges enacted by U.S. federal prosecutors in Hawaii last October. After being extradited to the U.S., Pokornik pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance.
Legal documents indicate that Pokornik worked as a flight attendant for a Toronto-based airline from 2017 to 2019. After his tenure, he reportedly used counterfeit employee identification to get tickets reserved exclusively for pilots and attendants on three separate U.S. airlines.
Prosecutors noted that he even requested a spot in the cockpit's jump seat, a seat typically reserved for off-duty pilots. Court documents do not clarify if he actually flew in this capacity.
While the indictment does not mention the specific airlines involved, it identifies them as being based in Honolulu, Chicago, and Fort Worth, Texas. Representatives from Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, and American Airlines did not respond to requests for comments regarding the case.
Authorities revealed that Pokornik's fraudulent activities occurred over a four-year span. A magistrate judge in the U.S. has ordered him to be held in custody as the case proceeds. His public defender has opted not to comment.
This incident echoes the Hollywood story told in 'Catch Me If You Can,' starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which illustrates a similar scheme of impersonation to defraud an airline.
