Australia Woman Fakes Own Death For $500,000 Insurance Claim; Arrested

A 42-year-old Australian Karen Salkilld, who owns a gym faked her own death to misappropriate nearly $500,000 insurance claim. As part of this conspiracy, she posed as her partner. According to the New York Post, Salkilld was arrested in March after filing the insurance claim in her partner’s name, claiming that she had died in a car accident. The claim included a number of fake documents, including a death certificate and an investigation record into a death.

The Post reported that the insurance company transferred $477,520 into a bank account that the 42-year-old had set up in her partner’s name.

Her scheme was foiled when Salkilld’s bank flagged and subsequently froze the suspicious account.

In an attempt to access the funds, Salkilld visited Palmyra Police Station with several forms of ID that had been certified by an officer. But it was found that these copies were altered before being submitted to the bank.

After her arrest in March, Salkilld pleaded guilty to the two offences in her first appearance in front of a magistrate. She faces up to seven years in jail for her offences of gains benefit by fraud and intent to defraud knowingly using any record which is false.