A pensioner faked his own death in Honduras in an attempt to con ACE European out of £520,000.
Pretending to be his wife, Anthony McErlean cooked up an elaborate story that he had been run over by a truck in Honduras while changing a tyre by the side of the road.
McErlean invented a ‘witness’ who was travelling with him as part of a wildlife photography holiday. In the claim, the ‘witness’ said a truck full of farm workers took a dead McErlean to Santa Rosa De Aguan, a small village, where local people took care of the body.
On seeing the death benefit claim, ACE became suspicious and passed the details on to the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB).
McErlean, 66, from Swarling Hill Road, Petham, Canterbury, yesterday pleaded guilty to making a fraudulent insurance claim and also two counts of theft in claiming pensions of of £40,658 from the Department of Work and Pensions, and £27,000 from the Port of London Authority.
He will be sentenced on July 18 at Cantebury Crown Court. He was remanded in custody.
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