Arafa Nassib: Fake death mum jailed for insurance fraud

Nassib's debts grew after she failed to pay them off following a move in 2009

A woman who faked her own death in Africa in order to claim a £136,000 insurance payout has been jailed for two and a half years.

Her son, who lodged the claim, has been given a 12 month community order.

Arafa Nassib, 48, and Adil Kasim, 18, pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court in May to committing fraud by false representation.

A death certificate issued by a hospital in Tanzania stated Nassib had died from a severe head injury.

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Nassib had amassed debts of £80,000 when she faked her death in Zanzibar, where she was said to have been involved in a car crash.

Prosecutor Jonathan Barker told the court that "had the fraud been successful then the conspirators would have benefited to the sum of £136,530."

Nassib supposedly died from serious head injuries following a car accident

The fraud, which centred on claims made against two policies with Scottish Widows, took place between March and December last year. One policy was worth £115,267 and the other £21,263.

Kasim was sentenced for conspiring to commit fraud after his mother instructed him to lodge the false life insurance claims.

Defence barrister Mohammed Riaz claimed Kasim had been acting under the instruction of his mother after she contacted him from Africa.

The 48-year-old's fraud was discovered when investigators found no trace of her supposed grave in Zanzibar and the doctor reported to have treated her was not working on the day Nassib supposedly died. Nassib was in fact living in Canada at the time.

Mr Barker said of Nassib: "She took the lead role in this conspiracy and she involved her young son. The offending was sophisticated and involved, no doubt, significant planning."