Skydiving Instructor Sentenced for Fraud and Risk

Robert Allen Pooley, 49, has been sentenced to two years in prison for running unauthorized skydiving instructor courses after his certification was suspended in 2015. Despite the suspension, Pooley continued to train over 100 candidates using fraudulent credentials at the Lodi Parachute Center, charging each approximately $1,100. In 2016, a tandem jump led by one of his trainees, Yong Kwon, resulted in the deaths of Kwon and an 18-year-old passenger, Tyler Turner, when the parachutes failed to open. Pooley has not been charged directly in relation to these deaths, but many of his trainees demanded refunds once learning their certifications were invalid, which Pooley refused. The Lodi Parachute Center, with a history of 28 deaths since 1985, was ordered to pay $40 million to Turner's family in a wrongful death lawsuit, although no damages have been received. Pooley's sentence also includes three years of supervised release and an enhancement for the risk of death or serious injury due to his fraudulent activities.