Bogus Skydiving instructor jailed for lying about being qualified to teach at California center that’s seen 28 deaths

A bogus California skydiving instructor has been jailed for lying for nearly 10 years about being qualified to teach at a school that has had 28 deaths from accidents, according to officials and reports.

Robert Pooley, 49, was sentenced to two years in prison Monday after he was found guilty in May of continuing to teach new instructors tandem jumping at the Lodi Parachute Center in Acampo after his certification was suspended in 2015, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Pooley trained over 100 new instructors by using the digital image of a certified instructor’s signature to sign off on training courses, which cost each student about $1,100.

Students Yong Kwon, 25, and Tyler Turner fell to their deaths in 2016 in one doomed tandem jump — sparking people to question the instructor, according to SFGate.

“Pooley falsely told students that he was a tandem examiner,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “After those deaths, numerous victims of Pooley’s scheme asked for their money back, but he did not repay them.”

Pooley has not been charged in Kwon or Turner’s deaths. 

Following Turner and Kwon’s fatal crash, a wrongful death civil suit was brought against the skydiving facility’s owner, William Dause. Turner’s family was awarded a $40 million judgment, but told SFGate in 2023 they hadn’t received any of it.

A previous SFGate investigation revealed fuzzy levels of regulations at the skydiving facility, which has seen 28 deaths since 1985.

Pooley was convicted of wire fraud in May after a week-long trial, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

A count of aggravated identity theft was previously dismissed.