Robert Allen Pooley, Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, California 2023

Unauthorized Skydiving Courses End in Arrest

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – An indictment was unsealed following the arrest of Robert Allen Pooley, 46, of Acampo, Monday, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

On June 10, a federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment against Pooley, charging him with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft related to tandem parachuting courses.

Pooley allegedly obtained ratings as a ‘tandem examiner’ with the U.S. Parachute Association (USPA) and as a ‘tandem examiner’ with Uninsured United Parachute Technologies LLC (UPT), a manufacturer of tandem parachute systems, in 2010.

He then began conducting training courses for candidates seeking to obtain their USPA Tandem Instructor rating and/or their certification to use UPT tandem parachute systems. He charged students $1,000 to $1,600 for these courses.

USPA and UPT suspended Pooley’s tandem examiner ratings in August 2015, but he continued running the courses without authorization, concealing his suspensions from students. Pooley led students to believe they could obtain USPA and UPT tandem ratings through his courses.

As part of the scheme, Pooley used a digital image of the signature of another properly rated USPA and UPT tandem examiner to sign off on training that Pooley himself had conducted. Pooley accepted numerous students from around the world, including the Republic of Korea, Chile, New Zealand, and Mexico.

On Aug. 6, 2016, one student fell to his death in a tandem diving accident with a customer. After the deaths, numerous victims of Pooley’s scheme asked for their money back, but he did not repay them.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher S. Hales and Katherine T. Lydon are prosecuting the case.

Pooley faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of wire fraud, and a mandatory two-year sentence on each count of aggravated identity theft.

Pooley’s charges are only allegations; he is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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