A man from Wisconsin who faked his own death to be with a woman he met online was sentenced to jail for 89 days, the same number of days he was missing and was presumed “dead”. A husband and father, 45-year-old Ryan Borgwardt, reportedly said in court that he regretted his action that caused pain to his loved ones.
"I deeply regret the actions that I did that night and all the pain that I caused my family and friends," Borgwardt said in court, reported ABC News. Defence attorney Erik Johnson further added, “He is here taking responsibility for his actions.”
What had happened?
Last August, Borgwardt told his wife he was going kayaking on Green Lake, and after that, he was reported missing, according to Sky News. Initially, it was presumed that he had drowned. However, the police didn’t recover any body.
As the investigations continued, the authorities reportedly discovered that he had acquired a new passport, reversed his vasectomy and purchased life insurance to fake his death so that he could meet up with a woman from Uzbekistan with whom he had been communicating online.
How did the authorities get suspicious?
The man "researched and studied how to successfully disappear,” the prosecutor said in court, reported ABC News. He also believed that "Green Lake’s great depth would mean that a body would not surface.” He reportedly cleared his browser and inquired how to move funds to a foreign bank.
{{/usCountry}}The man "researched and studied how to successfully disappear,” the prosecutor said in court, reported ABC News. He also believed that "Green Lake’s great depth would mean that a body would not surface.” He reportedly cleared his browser and inquired how to move funds to a foreign bank.
{{/usCountry}}By the time the authorities found him, he had relocated to the country of Georgia. Eventually, they convinced him to return to the US, where he was charged and ultimately sentenced to jail for 89 days. Four months after he returned, Borgwardt's wife of 22 years divorced him.
Talking about the incident, Green Lake County District Attorney Gerise LaSpisa told the Sun, “his entire plan to fake his death to devastate his family in order to serve his own selfish desires hinged on him dying in the lake and selling his death to the world".
Initially, Borgwardt denied any charges against him, but eventually accepted a plea deal.