Canadian Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud for Falsely Posing as a Commercial Airline Pilot

HONOLULU - United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Dallas Pokornik, 34, of Toronto, Canada, pled guilty yesterday in federal court to wire fraud. After his indictment in October 2025, Pokornik was arrested in Panama and extradited to the United States to face his charges here in the District of Hawaii.

According to court documents, Pokornik, a former flight attendant for a commercial airline in Canada, admitted to falsely posing as a commercial pilot to get hundreds of free flights on three different airlines. During the scheme, which spanned from January 2020 to October 28, 2024, Pokornik used a fictitious employee identification card to obtain the free flights. As part of his plea agreement, Pokornik agreed to pay restitution to the three victim airlines, which are all based in the United States.

"Travel security protocols help keep our citizens and visitors safe, and anyone who breaches those protocols should expect to be brought to justice," said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson. "We thank our law enforcement partners at Homeland Security Investigations and abroad for helping us hold this fraudster accountable."

"Dallas Pokornik's guilty plea is a testament to the seamless collaboration between HSI Honolulu, the Department of Justice, and our international law enforcement partners. This individual took advantage of travel security protocols for his own benefit, and he will now face the consequences of his actions," said CJ Ammons, Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge.

Pokornik's sentencing hearing is set for December 8, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Shanlyn A.S. Park. Pokornik faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, plus a term of supervised release.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Nammar is prosecuting the case.