A gym owner has recently made headlines for a shocking act of deception, as she faked her own death in order to scam nearly $500,000 from an insurance company.
Karen Salkilld, a 42-year-old woman, was arrested in March after submitting an insurance claim under the identity of her partner, falsely claiming that she had died in a car accident in Broome.
She went to great lengths to fabricate a series of documents, including a death certificate, a letter from a West Australian Court Commissioner, and an investigative record of a death, all of which were fraudulent.
The insurance company subsequently transferred $477,520.26 into a bank account that Salkilld had opened under her partner's name.
There is no indication that her partner was involved in this criminal scheme.
To access the funds, Salkilld went to the Palmyra Police Station with some form of identity confirmation that had been authenticated by a police officer, but she was unsuccessful in unlocking the account.
Approached by Nine News in a Perth car park and questioned about faking her death, she expressed surprise and refused to engage.
The reporter persisted, questioning how she thought she could evade consequences for the serious fraud charges she faced.
This woman, formerly an assistant coach for the East Fremantle Sharks and a mother of two, faces charges. She is accused of fraudulently pretending to be another person and could receive a maximum seven-year prison sentence.
She has pleaded guilty, and her trial at the District Court is scheduled for next month. She is believed to have operated an F45 gym in Perth.
In a shocking case of insurance fraud, a man, named Chang, has been charged for deliberately submerging his legs in dry ice for a prolonged period, resulting in amputation, to receive a substantial insurance payout.
Investigators discovered that Chang had recently obtained multiple high-value insurance policies before the incident, raising suspicions.
Chang claimed that he sustained the injuries while riding his scooter on a cold evening in northern Taiwan, which led to severe frostbite.
However, insurers became skeptical due to the timing of his insurance acquisitions and launched a thorough investigation.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) in Taiwan found that cases of severe frostbite requiring amputation due to natural climate conditions are extremely rare in the flatlands of the subtropical region.
Weather reports from the day of the incident showed temperatures ranging from 6.1°C to 17°C, which were not extreme enough to cause such severe frostbite.
Furthermore, investigators concluded that Chang did not wear shoes or socks at the time of the incident, suggesting that the injuries were self-inflicted.
Although Chang successfully obtained a partial insurance payout of around $7,000 from one insurance company, four other insurance companies denied the remaining portion of his disability compensation claim.
The total amount of Chang's claim reached approximately $1.3 million, leading to all five insurance companies reporting suspected fraudulent claims.
