A man tried to fake his own death to claim a £1million insurance payout, and even blamed his wife after he was found out.
Syed Bukhari, 39, from Manchester, initially contacted his insurance company by email, pretending to be his wife, and claimed he had died from a heart attack in Karachi, Pakistan.
He also impersonated his wife on the phone to try to validate the claim and progress it further. But police were tipped off by suspicious insurers.
A voice analysis expert compared his voice to the one on the calls allegedly made by his partner and suspected it was Bukhari pretending to be his partner.
Bukhari, of Withington, initially denied his crimes and said his wife made the claim without his knowledge.
He later pleaded guilty to fraud and false representation at Inner London Crown Court.
He is currently serving seven years and 11 months in prison for unrelated fraud offences. He was sentenced to a further five years and seven months in prison.
Detective Sgt Mike Monkton, who led the investigation at the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), 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, but thanks to the initial enquiries carried out by the insurer and their subsequent referral to IFED, we were able to uncover the full extent of his fraudulent activity and bring him to justice.”
It was also revealed Bukhari submitted fake documents, including a medical certificate of cause of death, a death registration certificate, and a trust document.
There were several discrepancies with these documents and when IFED tested the medical certificate for fingerprints, three marks were identified as belonging to Bukhari.
An investigator commissioned by the insurer found the cemetery in Pakistan named on the death certificate had no record of the burial happening.
The investigator attended offices where the death registration certificate recorded the alleged death of Bukhari. However the file, which should have contained details about the death, was empty.
They also tried to visit the medical centre listed on the medical certificate of cause of death, but could not find any sign of the premises existing in Karachi. A doctor from a nearby hospital said he had never heard of the medical centre.
In 2018, Bukhari was jailed after he conned an elderly couple suffering from dementia out of their home and life savings.
He spent tens of thousands of pounds on a hair transplant, bought Rolex watches, jewellery, designer clothes, and phones and travelled in first class flights to Pakistan and Dubai six times. He even spent £11,000 on a stay at a Dubai hotel.
