A German man has been jailed after he was found to have faked his own death so that he could claim €4m on a series of life insurance policies.
The Mirror reports Christoph H, 56, from Germany, first purchased a motorboat in October 2019 and claimed he was sailing to Denmark from Kiel.
But he lied to his insurance provider about the boat capsizing in the Baltic Sea. In fact he had jumped out of the boat onto an inflatable dinghy before making his way back up the coastline.
Continuing his deception he subsequently booked a hotel reservation ahead of time in Bargenkop, Denmark.
He then spent six months hiding in his mother’s attic near the German city of Hanover, in order for him and his wife, Olena, 56, to claim on 14 life insurance policies.
His wife later admitted she should not have collaborated with her husband’s plan.
He was eventually was brought to book by a police officer after his insurance providers raised the alarm over the suspicious policies in May 2020.
Consequently, he was jailed for three years and two months after pleading guilty to the fraud scam, while his wife was given two years’ probation after taking responsibility for her part in the crime.
According to local media, the pair waited until April 2020 to push for him to be declared legally dead. But mere weeks later, the insurers phoned and alerted the authorities and police found Christoph.
Ahead of sentencing, he apologised for the scam and told the court: “From today’s perspective, the whole thing was totally crazy.”
His wife Olena added: “I allowed myself to be drawn into something that I couldn’t see or understand.”