A skydiving instructor in San Joaquin County who was found guilty in May of wire fraud relating to courses he offered that he was not authorized to teach was given two years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said.
Robert Pooley, 49, of Acampo, was a tandem parachute instructor, teaching other skydivers how to jump in tandem with others, which is when two people share the same parachute.
In 2010, Pooley obtained legitimate ratings as a “tandem examiner” with the U.S. Parachute Association. He then began teaching people who were seeking tandem skydiving certifications. He charged money for these courses at a business located in Acampo.
In 2015, Pooley’s tandem examiner status was suspended for reasons that prosecutors are not divulging, and he could no longer conduct his courses on his own. According to prosecutors, he continued to do so anyway without authorization, concealing his suspension from other tandem instructor candidates.
As a result, Pooley told students that he was a tandem examiner after his suspension and led them to believe they were legitimately getting their tandem ratings through his courses.
As part of his scheme, Pooley would use the signature of another legitimate tandem examiner to sign off on the trainings that he himself carried out.
Pooley took in students from all over the world, such as from the Republic of Korea, to Chile, to Mexico. Tragically, one of his former students fell to their death in 2016 in a tandem skydiving accident with his customer, who also perished. This student of Pooley’s had believed he had received certification from someone who was authorized to give it.
Each student had paid Pooley over $1,000 for these courses, and after the death of the tandem skydiver and their customer, numerous victims of Pooley’s teaching scheme asked for their money back. Pooley did not repay them, leading the students to have to pay for all new courses with a valid instructor.
This was a federal case because the Federal Aviation Administration regulates skydiving.