Girlfriend’s Calls Lead to ‘Dead’ Man
A man was accused Wednesday of faking his death in a scuba diving accident off the Florida Keys to collect on a $1-million life insurance policy.
Kerry Steven Scheele, 29, was arrested in Beloit, Wis., and faces extradition to Florida. He was charged with application fraud, claims fraud and first- and third-degree grand theft.
Scheele led his estranged wife and others to believe he drowned during a lobster diving trip in August, according to Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson.
Investigators later tracked him down through phone records linked to a girlfriend.
Investigators said Scheele named the girlfriend as beneficiary on a $1-million life insurance policy. She left Monroe County, Fla., within days after his reported drowning, but not before making a number of long-distance calls, investigators said.
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