HARTLEPOOL, England – A British man and his wife accused of conspiring to fake the husband's death in an insurance scam were ordered Wednesday to remain in jail as they await trial on charges of deception.
John Darwin, 57, and his 55-year-old wife, Anne, were charged Tuesday with four counts of obtaining money by deception, on top of similar charges they already faced.
They are accused of defrauding a teachers' pension plan, a civil service pension plan, an insurance company and the government's Bereavement Benefit Scheme.
The couple appeared Wednesday at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court, 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of London, and were ordered detained until their next court appearance on Jan. 18.
John Darwin caused a media sensation when he walked into a London police station Dec. 1, claiming to be suffering from amnesia. He had been reported missing five years earlier after canoeing in the North Sea and had been declared dead in 2003.
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