Attorney for California skydiving instructor takes issue with evidence-gathering in fraud case
An attorney for a man accused of defrauding students at a notorious skydiving center near Lodi used a court hearing Monday to try to chip away at evidence that could be used in an upcoming trial.
U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb didn’t seem persuaded.
Robert Pooley taught tandem instructor courses at the Parachute Center in Acampo. Federal prosecutors allege that in 2016 he falsely led students to believe they could obtain necessary certifications by completing his courses.
That’s because Pooley’s teaching credentials were suspended at the time, and he couldn’t certify students on his own. Normally, he taught with another instructor. But when that teacher left the country for a few months, Pooley led courses by himself, according to prosecutors.
It was during this time, prosecutors allege, that he used pre-filled forms — that showed the other instructor’s signature — to sign off on student training. The signature issue came to light shortly after a fatal incident in 2016, when an instructor certified by Pooley died along with his tandem partner during a jump at the Parachute Center.
In 2021, Pooley was charged with aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. He has pleaded not guilty.
Federal public defender Mia Crager argued Monday that a U.S. Department of Transportation search warrant used to collect evidence in 2018 was overbroad and amounted to a “dragnet.”
One item in question was a manila folder in Pooley’s locker at the Parachute Center that was stuffed with paperwork from students he taught. It included documents dating back to at least 2012.
Crager argued that records inside the folder were not “in use” during a time period specified in the warrant. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Lydon disagreed, in part, because Pooley was supposed to keep the documents for years.
Before the hearing ended, Shubb said he planned to deny the defense attorney’s request to restrict the evidence.
The charges against Pooley came after the death of Yong Kwon, a 25-year-old from South Korea, who was one of his students at the center. On Aug. 6, 2016, Kwon led a tandem jump with Tyler Turner, an 18-year-old who had gone to the Parachute Center with his friends.
During the jump, Kwon had issues with the main and reserve parachutes before he and Turner slammed into the ground. They are just two of at least 28 people who have died at the center since 1985, an investigation by The Sacramento Bee found.
Within days of the incident, a Federal Aviation Administration investigator learned Pooley and the other instructor had signed off on Kwon’s training documents — but during the period when the other instructor was out of the country. What’s more, the investigator found that Kwon was not licensed by the United States Parachute Association, an industry organization that certifies tandem skydiving instructors.
That meant he should not have been leading the tandem jump.
Following the deaths, the USPA required roughly 140 people who attended tandem courses at the center, and others, to undergo additional training.
The indictment in the case alleged there were several students who were defrauded by Pooley.
In an emailed statement after the hearing, Crager said the case was a “classic example of government overreach” and vowed to file an appeal following the jury trial.
The trial is scheduled to begin in May.
