SYDNEY – A British man accused of faking his own death as part of a life insurance scam was arrested in Australia after a six-year hunt by authorities, police said Thursday.
Hugo Sanchez, who also went by the first name Alfredo, was arrested in Sydney on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police said. She had no further details.
Sanchez and his wife, Sophie, had been living in Surrey when they found themselves in deep debt, according to a statement on Britain's Crown Prosecution Service website. Sanchez is accused of convincing Sophie to tell authorities and his employer that he died while overseas, so that she could collect his life insurance.
Sophie began claiming on the life insurance policies -- but suspicions arose when Sanchez's own fingerprints were found on his death certificate, the prosecution service said.
Sophie, 43, was arrested and admitted her husband was still alive, the prosecution service said. She pleaded guilty to six fraud offenses and was sentenced to two years in jail in December.
Sanchez appeared briefly in a Sydney court on Thursday. His lawyer, Jim Nicopoulos, told the court Sanchez would not contest extradition to the UK, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported.
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