I Killed Myself: True Stories of People Who Faked Their Death

It seems like the plot of a Hollywood movie: a person fakes their death, collects the death benefit from their life insurance policy, and lives happily ever after on a small tropical island. It’s nothing more than a silly fantasy, a pipe dream with no relation to reality. And yet, many people have been foolish enough to try and outwit their insurance company. Here are three stories of people who committed life insurance fraud.

John Darwin

The story of John Darwin’s insurance fraud is an epic five-year saga.

John Darwin was a science teacher in the UK. He eventually switched careers to work for Barlcays Bank. He also ran a side business with his wife renting rooms in multi-family houses.  They eventually expanding their business to include 12 houses. After purchasing two houses in December of 2000, the couple ran into a great deal of debt, amounting to “tens of thousands of pounds“. This sudden debt was the impetus for John Darwin’s insurance fraud.

John loved nature, and was often seen at the seashore in his canoe. On March 21, 2002, John Darwin was seen setting out to sea in his canoe at Seaton Carew in Hartlepool. Later that same day, he was reported missing after he failed to show up at work. A search party was mounted, but no sign of Darwin could be found, save for his canoe paddle. The next day, his wrecked canoe was found. Anne is branded by the UK media as “the canoe widow”.

In March of 2003, a death certificate was issued, which allowed Darwin’s wife to collect on her husband’s life insurance policy. In addition to a payout of £25,000 (about $34,000), she receives enough money to pay off her mortgage, about £130,000 (just under $180,000).

Meanwhile, John Darwin has been living secretly in an apartment in the house he owned with his wife. Shockingly, the couple keep their two sons completely in the dark. For the next five years, the couple’s children believe that their father is dead.

Once Anne and John have the money from the insurance company in hand, they consider moving abroad. In 2004, Darwin applied for a passport. He used a false name by stealing the identity of a baby who had died shortly after it was born. Shortly thereafter, the couple travel to Cyprus to look at property there.

For the next 2 years, they weigh their options. In 2006, they visit Panama and are photographed with a real estate agent there. They decide to buy a home in Panama, and plan to start a business running canoe tours. In March 2007, the couple purchase their new home in Panama. In May of 2007, Anne Darwin returned to the UK to sell her home, while her husband stayed in hiding back in Panama.

In September, one of Anne’s coworkers overhears a series of phone conversations. The coworker contacted police because “The tone of the conversations led…[her to] believe [Mrs. Darwin] was talking to the man who was supposedly dead”. The police take a keen interest in this tip, and re-open the investigation into Darwin’s disappearance.

On December 1, 2007, Darwin walked into a London police station, and claimed he had amnesia and was unable to remember any events from the past five years. 4 days later, a photograph of John and Anne Darwin is published in the newspaper. When Anne is confronted with evidence of their life insurance fraud, she admits that the photo is indeed of her and John. Her sons no longer wished to have any contact with their parents, feeling that they had been victims of the scam. Ironically, it was John’s desire to see his sons again that prompted him to return to the UK and use the amnesia story.

On December 8th, John is arrested and charged for his crimes. His wife is arrested the following day. They were held in custody of the crown. On the 13th of March, Darwin plead guilty to seven charges of insurance and passport fraud, but refused to admit his guilt related to the charges of using criminal property. Anne plead not guilty on all charges.

On July 23rd 2008, John and Anne were both convicted of fraud. John was sentenced to six years and three months in jail; his wife was sentenced to six years and six months.

Although they were able to evade authorities for 5 years, the Darwins lost everything they held dear: their money, their liberty, and the love of their children.

Ari Squire

The story of Ari Squire is a macabre tale of greed, murder, and suicide. Squire was convicted in U.S. District Court in Chicago in 2005 of overbilling Medicare for $838,920 through a company he ran named AccuCare Inc. This may have been what pushed him to commit a grisly murder.

In February of 2008, Ari Squire plotted with his wife Denise to commit a massive insurance fraud. In order to collect on a  multi-million dollar policy, Ari befriended a man who looked nearly identical to him. Ari Squire met Justin Newman at a Home Depot in Illinois, and lured him with promises of working on some construction jobs around Squire’s home. Squire offered to pay Newman double his normal wage working at Home Depot. Squire murdered Newman, dressed him in Squire’s clothing, and made it seem as though an accident had occurred. Squire crushed Newman’s body under a truck, and then set fire to the truck and the body.

Ari went into hiding, and his wife Denise played her part in the evil scheme by calling 911 after her husband had set fire to the corpse of Mr. Newman. When police arrived on the scene, they were initially fooled by Denise Squire’s deception. However, when Newman’s mother reported her son missing two days later, police became suspicious.

Meanwhile, Ari Squire had gone into hiding in Missouri, and was exchanging emails with his wife to see how their scam was going. He even asked her about a memorial banquet that was held in his honor after he faked his death.

Squire had dyed his hair and used colored contact lenses to make himself look even more like Newman. As police began to close in on his location, Ari Squire then committed suicide in a motel room in Eureka, Missouri. He shot himself in the head.

Despite evidence pointing to her guilt, Denise Squire was not immediately implicated in her husband’s insurance fraud and murder plot. However, she is under investigation by police, and has not received any money from the insurance company. Newman’s mother is suing Denise Squire in civil court, and is seeking a multi-million dollar settlement.

The Squire’s greed was their undoing. It cost Ari Squire his life, and Denise Squire will likely be forced to pay a large settlement to the family of the murder victim.

Ahmad Akhtary

Ahmad Akhtary’s story is interesting because he exhibits both devilish cunning and incredible stupidity.

Akhtary and his ex-wife Anne conspired to commit life insurance fraud to the tune of £300,000 (over $400,000). Anne was 43 at the time, and was a single mother supporting triplets.

Akhtary obtained a falsified death certificate from Afghanistan, which stated that he had died from a brain injury in 2006. His ex-wife submitted a claim to the insurance firm Norwich Union, where the couple has a joint life insurance policy.

For a man who was cunning enough to forge a Afghan death certificate, Akhtary soon showed immense stupidity.

News of the couple’s deception made news in early September of 2008 when the story broke in UK newspaper The Guardian.

Akhtary’s plan had come crumbling down around him. He was foolish enough to keep living in Gloucester, without doing much to hide his identity. He even was thick-headed enough to continue keeping his appointments with his doctor.  Investigators for the insurance company knew there was something fishy going on when they saw that Akhtary had visited his doctor’s office six months after his alleged death.

The investigators interrogated Akhtary’s ex-wife, and she broke down and admitted the truth. Akhtary’s guilt was further cemented when authorities examined the forged death certificate and found that it was covered with Akhtary’s fingerprints. Ahmad and Anne were both arrested, and found guilty of their crimes. They were both sentenced to nine months in jail, suspended for two years (presumably due to the young age of their children). They were both also sentenced to community service. Ahmad was sentenced to 60 hours, Anne was sentenced to 40 hours of community service.

The story of the Ahktarys proves how greed can drive even the most cunning person to acts of unbelievable stupidity.

All three of these cases prove the same point: crime doesn’t pay. Each of these people let their greed overtake their sense of morality, and all paid a bitter price for their attempted insurance fraud.