This was an excellent scam, they just needed to keep things lowkey.
But, they made some crucial mistakes.
Igor Vorotinov, 54, took out the policy with Mutual of Omaha in March 2010 and named his ex-wife, Irinia Vorotoniv, as his primary beneficiary, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. He then allegedly left Minnesota and returned to Moldova.
In October 2011, Moldovan police found the corpse of an adult male on the side of the road in Cojusna, which officials identified as Vorotinov based on documents still on the body. Police said he had died of a heart attack and Irina Vorotinov flew in to make a positive identification and cremate the body, which she brought back to Minnesota.
Vorotinov, meanwhile, had moved to Transnistria and lived under the name Nikoly Patoka between 2012 and about November 2018, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
A month after the body was found, Irina Vorotinov submitted a claim with Mutual of Omaha, which paid out $2,048,414.09 to her on March 23, 2012.
Son Alkon Vorotinov also allegedly knew that his father had faked his death: in November 2013, he was stopped by Border Patrol agents in Detroit on his way back from Moldova. During a search, agents found photos of him and his father taken that summer.
Never take pics if you are faking your death.
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