Couples’ Take on ‘Till Death Do Us Part’

When someone buys a life insurance policy, it is assumed that it will be used once a spouse or family member passes away –possibly to pay for the funeral or for expenses left behind by the deceased. It’s a whole different story when it comes to Vij Misir however; he didn’t even have to die for his spouse to cash in.  

Rajmatee Kapadia, Misir’s wife, has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors for the insurance money that she collected from her husband’s imaginary death. She supposedly collected more than $1.9 million in total from the insurance companies.

According to the Argus Leader, in 2003, Kapadia told the Sioux Falls based company, Midland National Life Insurance, and the California based company, West Coast Life Insurance that her husband had died of food poisoning during a family vacation to Malaysia. The fact that Misir was still alive and well was news to them.

Court documents shows that Kapadia and Misir got help from several people in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia when documenting the death; they also took steps to corroborate their story with agencies that weren’t in on the scheme.

They acquired pills for Misir that caused his body to mimic the symptoms of food poisoning, for example. Misir took them then checked himself into two separate clinics, court papers show, so independent reports of his condition would match the dates and causes listed on the phony death certificate Kapadia would later present to Midland and West Coast.

The plan started heading south in 2009 however, when officials at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia noticed the dead man trying to renew his passport. 

In October, Misir pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Kapadia’s attorneys pushed for a trial up until last week, when they signed a deal to plead guilty to the same charge. Two charges relating to social security fraud were dropped.