UK jails Pakistani who posed as wife, faked death in £1m insurance fraud

UK jails Pakistani who posed as wife, faked death in £1m insurance fraud

Authorities in the United Kingdom have jailed a British-Pakistani man for posing as his wife and faking his own death in a £1-million insurance scam.

In a statement, London Police’s insurance fraud department (IFED), said the man — identified as Syed Bukhari, 39 — “impersonated his female partner on the phone to try and fake his own death”, claiming that he had passed away following a heart attack in Karachi.

Bukhari “used a bogus death certificate”, medical certificate mentioning the cause of death, and a trust document to try and progress his insurance claim.

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”, London Police added.

Already serving seven-year jail sentence

It is noteworthy that Bukhari was already serving a seven-year jail sentence for other fraud charges. He was convicted of the latest insurance scam on Friday in the UK’s Inner London Crown Court and sentenced to more than five years in prison.

According to London Police statement, 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, he was also brazen enough to impersonate his partner in a bid to progress his claim.

“If he’d been successful, he would’ve benefited up to the sum of £999,999,” added Monkton, who was also the lead investigator.

Investigators discovered that the medical centre where he allegedly died did not exist, that a doctor from another hospital nearby said he had never heard of such a facility, and that there was no record of Bukhari being buried in the cemetery.

The British-Pakistani man was caught after a voice analysis expert confirmed it was Bukhari’s voice and his fingerprints were found on the documents he submitted, alongside the aforementioned evidence.

‘Rolex watches’ and ‘travelling first class’

Despite a tonne of proof, Bukhari denied the fraud and blamed it on his own partner. He, however, pleaded guilty at court later.

Russian news media outlet Sputnik added that Bukhari was a serial fraudster as he had previously defrauded an elderly couple, aged 80 and 81 and 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 publication added that he spent money obtained by defrauding the old couple Bukhari on six trips to the UAE and Pakistan, “travelling first class and spending £11,000 on a hotel stay in Dubai”, as well as “on Rolex watches, jewellery and designer clothes” and “a cosmetic procedure to cover up his bald patch”.

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/600054-uk-jails-pakistani-who-posed-as-wife-faked-death-in-1m-insurance-fraud