A man was jailed in the UK for faking his death and posing as his wife for a £1-million insurance scam.
As per the statement from London Police’s insurance fraud system, Syed Bukhari, 39, “impersonated his female partner on the phone to tried and fake his own death ”to convince the insurance company that he has passed away after a heart attack in Karachi”.
A British-Pakistani man was jailed after UK authorities caught him posing as his wife and faking his own death for a £1-million insurance scam. Syed Bukhari, 39, “impersonated his female partner on phone to try and fake his own death”, claiming he had passed away in Karachi. pic.twitter.com/stmxDnFpAY
— 24 News HD (@24NewsHD) January 17, 2020
He even used a bogus death certificate as well as a medical certificate mentioning the cause of his death.
London Police said, “he had initially contacted his insurance company via email purporting to be his partner, claiming that he’d died from a heart attack in Karachi, Pakistan”.
Investigations revealed that Bukhari was already booked in other fraud cases. He was already serving a seven-year jail term for other fraud cases.
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He was convicted in a fraud case on Friday for five years and seven-month imprisonment in UK’s London Crown Court.
The lead investigator, Acting Detective Sergeant Mike Monkton said, “Not only did Bukhari try and fake his own death and steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from his insurer, but he was also brazen enough to impersonate his partner in a bid to progress his claim.
— Fabio Fanton (@FabioPEOC) January 17, 2020
“If he’d been successful in insurance fraud, he would’ve benefited up to the sum of £999,999,” Monkton added.
He added that neither the traces of his body buried in the cemetery were found nor the hospital he claimed existed.
The British-Pakistani was caught when his voice tallied and his fingerprints on the documents he submitted matched with the aforementioned evidence.
Bukhari denied the allegations of an insurance scam and blamed his partner in the offense.
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According to another news agency, he is a habitual offender as he has earlier defrauded a couple aged 80 and 81 suffering from dementia. He had “tricked them into transferring £150,000 into his bank account to apply for loans” and “sold their house without their knowledge”.
The news agency said that he spent the money on luxury items and six travel from Dubai to Pakistan.