> Jacob admitted he...had created the video to make money through a sponsorship with a wallet company.
How much money would the sponsor have paid, and would it have been worth more than the cost of the crashed plane? I have no idea what planes cost, or how much sponsors pay, but this struck me as unlikely to be profitable (even before the costs of his criminal prosecution).
The search warrant (posted elsewhere on this thread) answers this question.
He bought the plane specifically for this stunt a few weeks before, he did not use his normal plane. He paid $5,000 for the plane and $5,000 for the helicopter recovery of the wreckage. He received $8,000 from the Ridge Wallet sponsorship.
Here's the relevant quotes-
>Inspector Krantz provided me a receipt he
obtained from the company Ridge Wallet. The receipt showed an
$8,000 payment to JACOB for the sponsored ad shown on JACOB’s
YouTube video.
> An FAA Aircraft Bill of Sale for N29508,
Taylorcraft BL65, serial number 2351 showed that, effective
October 06, 2021, Laura Smith (seller) transferred ownership of
the aircraft to JACOB (purchaser). The sale price listed on the
form was $5,000.
> On January 05, 2022, Sinton provided Krantz a
written statement via e-mail. I reviewed the statement and
learned the following: (1) JACOB called SINTON a few days before
December 10, 2021, to lift his wrecked Taylorcraft airplane out
of the forest; (2) JACOB said he was cleared to salvage the
plane; (3) On December 10, 2021, Sinton flew his helicopter and
met JACOB and a friend at Rancho Siquoc (Santa Maria,
California); (4) Sinton flew JACOB and his friend to the
wreckage and dropped them off with straps and shackles; (5)
Sinton landed in an open field nearby, put on the helicopter
long line and returned to the wreckage site; (6) Sinton hooked
onto the plane and flew it to JACOB’s trailer; (7) Sinton sent
JACOB an invoice for $4,950; and (8) On December 31, 2021,
JACOB’s friend “Steve Dozier” paid Sinton $5,000 on behalf of
JACOB.
How much money would the sponsor have paid, and would it have been worth more than the cost of the crashed plane? I have no idea what planes cost, or how much sponsors pay, but this struck me as unlikely to be profitable (even before the costs of his criminal prosecution).