Canadian who posed as pilot for free flights pleads guilty to wire fraud in U.S.

Officials in the United States say a Toronto man who falsely posed as a commercial pilot to get hundreds of free flights has pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Hawaii says court documents show Dallas Pokornik, 34, admitted to using a fake employee identification card to get free flights from three airlines between January 2020 and late October 2024.

They say Pokornik, who previously worked as a flight attendant for a commercial airline in Canada, agreed to pay restitution to the airlines as part of his plea deal.

Pokornik was indicted on wire fraud charges in federal court last October and then arrested in Panama before being extradited to the United States.

The indictment did not identify the airlines except to say they are based in Honolulu, Chicago and Fort Worth, Texas.

Officials say a sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8. Pokornik faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 as well as a term of supervised release.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2026.

-with files from The Associated Press

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