Toronto man accused of posing as pilot to board 'hundreds' of flights for free

Air travel can be pretty expensive these days, but one man from Canada seemed to have found a way to avoid the cost of flights entirely — but the plan was far from legal.

For years, a former flight attendant who used to work for a Canadian airline allegedly pretended to be a commercial pilot to travel for free, using false credentials to get free flights.

The case certainly echoes the 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can.

According to the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Hawaii, Dallas Pokornik, who lives in Toronto, "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 Oct. 28, 2024, Pokornik used a fictitious employee identification card to obtain the free flights," reads the statement.

The alleged scheme continued for over four years, during which Pokornik managed to travel on three U.S. airlines under false pretences before authorities eventually caught up with him.

Pokornik was indicted in October 2025 and later arrested in Panama before being extradited to the U.S., where he faces charges in Hawaii.

In the federal court on Aug. 6, Pokornik pleaded guilty to wire fraud. He's scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8, 2026, and faces up to 20 years in prison, a US$250,000 fine (around C$348,000), and a term of supervised release.

"This individual took advantage of travel security protocols for his own benefit, and he will now face the consequences of his actions," said C.J. Ammons, Homeland Security Investigations acting special agent in charge.

Attorney Ken Sorenson emphasized that travel security protocols are in place to keep citizens and visitors safe, adding that "anyone who breaches those protocols should expect to be brought to justice."