Swimmer accused of faking his death arrested for insurance fraud

NEW YORK — A Long Island man suspected of faking his own drowning to collect as much as $400,000 in life insurance was arrested Wednesday and formally charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy, and filing a false report.

The man, Raymond Roth, 47, of Massapequa, N.Y., was taken into custody without incident at the Nassau County psychiatric hospital where he admitted himself not long after reports early this month that his disappearance was a hoax.

Roth, who had recently been fired from his job, was initially believed to have disappeared July 28 in unprotected waters off Long Island, prompting an extensive — and fruitless — search. His disappearance, officials said, was reported to 911 by Jonathan Roth, his son, who told the police that he had gone to the beach with his father but lost track of him while answering text messages on his phone.

The search was called off Aug. 1 when Raymond Roth's brother, Robert, alerted police that Roth was in fact at his timeshare, the West Gate Lake Resort in Orlando. Before the authorities could verify the tip, they received a call from police in South Carolina, who said that Roth had just been stopped for speeding.

Jonathan Roth was earlier arrested on the same charges that his father now faces and subsequently pleaded not guilty.