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Kiel (dpa) - He faked his death on the Baltic Sea in order to free himself from a financial crisis: The Kiel district court sentenced a 53-year-old man and his wife to suspended sentences on Wednesday for attempted insurance fraud.
They found the couple guilty in one case and acquitted the defendants in another 13 cases.
The 53-year-old was sentenced to one year and nine months and his wife to one year.
The couple was charged with faking their husband's death in October 2019 in order to collect 4.1 million euros from 14 life and accident insurance companies.
The court was convinced that the man had faked a motorboat accident and drowning on the Baltic Sea and then went into hiding for months.
There was no payment.
The couple and the man's mother, who was also accused, were exposed beforehand.
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The prosecutor had demanded a prison sentence of four years for the 53-year-old and two years and ten months for his wife.
The proceedings against the co-defendant, 87-year-old mother, had been severed.
The defense lawyers had pleaded for acquittal in all cases.
They are convinced that the couple did not go beyond unpunished preparatory acts in implementing the joint crime plan.
According to the presiding judge, there was only one case where the defendants could have counted on the immediate payment of an accident insurance sum.
The defendant was the driving force behind the project and involved his wife and elderly mother.
The judge attested the man had "considerable criminal energy".
The faked misfortune with a specially bought boat should make the disappearance of the man appear credible.
The wife filed a missing person report three days later.
But the police quickly became suspicious.
An expert found tampering with the boat.
The insurance companies were not satisfied with a death report from the police, but asked for a death certificate.
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The 53-year-old had been in hiding for months.
First he went into hiding in Hamburg, then he moved into his mother's house in Schwarmstedt in Lower Saxony.
Police discovered him there in early May 2020, hidden behind boxes in the attic.
The verdict is not yet legally binding.
The public prosecutor's office announced a revision.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210210-99-380368 / 3
Press release from the Kiel police on May 8, 2020