{"id":39956,"date":"2022-11-09T19:07:29","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T19:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/man-charged-with-fraud-for-allegedly-faking-death-23-years-ago-living-low-key-in-knysna"},"modified":"2022-11-09T19:26:36","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T19:26:36","slug":"man-charged-with-fraud-for-allegedly-faking-death-23-years-ago-living-low-key-in-knysna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/man-charged-with-fraud-for-allegedly-faking-death-23-years-ago-living-low-key-in-knysna","title":{"rendered":"Man charged with fraud for allegedly faking death 23 years ago, living ‘low-key’ in Knysna"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>A Gauteng man has been charged with fraud after he allegedly faked his death, assumed a dead man’s identity, and lived “a low-key life” along the picturesque Garden Route, where he was found on Tuesday – 23 years later.<\/p>\n

Robin Smith, 67, was arrested along with his wife, Alice Abigail Boschoff, 59.<\/p>\n

According to the Hawks, Smith assumed the identity of his father-in-law, Chris Boshoff, who died many years ago.<\/p>\n

Hawks spokesperson, Captain Lloyd Ramovha, said the couple lived in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni at the time they “connived and faked Smith’s death”.<\/p>\n

“Consequently, an insurance claim was registered at Old Mutual insurance, leading to a payout of just over R1.7 million,” said Ramovha.<\/p>\n

They “quietly left Gauteng to [head to] KwaZulu-Natal after receiving the windfall”.<\/p>\n

He said:<\/p>\n

Ramovha added that Smith opened an auto repair shop and that his wife carried out the business’ administrative duties.<\/p>\n

“Around 2020, Old Mutual was tipped off about the possibility that they were scammed as Smith was apparently very much alive.”<\/p>\n

Following an internal probe, a fraud docket was registered in October 2020 and assigned to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime team.<\/p>\n

He said: “The team tirelessly traced the couple to a hideout in Knysna, leading to their arrest on Tuesday. Upon searching their place, two unlicensed firearms were recovered. A case of unlawful possession of firearms has now been included.”<\/p>\n

Ramovha could not say whether the couple had any children or whether their families knew Smith was still alive.<\/p>\n

However, he said they lived a “very low-key life” since 1999.<\/p>\n

They appeared in the Knysna Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday and are expected to be transferred to Gauteng.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. A Gauteng man has been charged with fraud after he allegedly faked his death, assumed a dead man’s identity, and lived “a low-key life” along the picturesque Garden Route, where he was found on Tuesday – 23 years later. Robin Smith, 67, was arrested along with his wife, Alice Abigail Boschoff, 59. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":39955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[274,315,314,2372,580,566,2081,275,295],"class_list":["post-39956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-crime","tag-crime-and-courts","tag-fraud","tag-george","tag-old-mutual","tag-south-africa-2","tag-western-cape"],"yoast_head":"\nMan charged with fraud for allegedly faking death 23 years ago, living 'low-key' in Knysna - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Gauteng man has been charged with fraud after he allegedly faked his death, assumed a dead man's identity, and lived " ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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