Husband’s Fake Death Costs Woman Two Years

Back in April, we brought you the story of a woman who faked her husband’s death so she could cash in on the insurance policy. Fast forward to present day, and that woman has been sentenced to two years in prison and must pay $1.5 million in restitution to Midland National Life of Sioux Falls and $495,000 in restitution to West Coast National Life.

According to the Argus Leader, Rajmatee Kapadia pled guilty in April to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. That same month, her “dead” ex-husband, Vij Misir, was sentenced to 36 months in prison.

Aside from admitting to mail fraud, Kapadia also claimed to have been raped and abused by Misir, whom she was forced to marry at the age of 17.

Misir has, of course, repeatedly denied abusing Kapadia.

During the four-hour hearing on July 25^th, Kapadia’s lawyer argued that sending her to prison would endanger her current husband, who has a severe diabetic condition that Kapadia monitors.

The sentence that came from U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol was a much lower one than what the prosecutors were asking for, which was seven to eight years. It was more severe however, than house arrest, which her current husband pleaded for.

The day after the hearing, she wept as she apologized for her actions and tried one final time for mercy.

“I am extremely sorry for my actions, and I can promise I will never do anything like this again,” Kapadia said. “My family … is the center of my life.”

One up side for her though, was Piersol did say that he believed at least some of the tales of abuse and agreed that Misir probably was the driving intellectual force behind the crime. The judge also stated that he sympathized with her current husband’s condition and her role in monitoring his health.

That wasn’t enough for the severity of the crime however. The level of deception –like Kapadia leading her children to believe that their father had died– and the amount of the theft –Kapadia had initially asked for $7 million from the insurance companies– made the crime too significant to end without a prison sentence.

“This was a serious offense. A lot of money was involved, and even more was expected,” Piersol said.