ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The businessman who is accused of faking his own death to collect millions of dollars on life insurance policies faces new charges.
Federal prosecutors charged 62-year-old Jose Lantigua with passport fraud and aggravated identity fraud. Prosecutors also charged his wife, Daphne Simpson, with lying to federal authorities.
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Lantigua used to operate the Circle K furniture store on Jacksonville's Westside. In 2013, he was declared dead in Venezuela.
According to an arrest warrant, Lantigua had $9 million in seven different life insurance policies. The FBI figured out his alleged scheme when he applied for a passport under the name Ernest Wills.
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The application also listed his wife as his spouse and a house she owned in North Carolina as his address.
Investigators said Simpson lied to a federal agent when she referred to Lantigua as Ernest Wills. She's in the Duval County Jail on insurance fraud charges while Lantigua is behind bars in North Carolina.
Simpson also faces insurance fraud and related state charges for filing fraudulent insurance claims and receiving a $500,000 payout from one of Lantigua’s life insurance policies, said prosecutors.
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Lantigua faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the passport fraud charge if convicted. For the aggravated identity theft charge, he also faces an two mandatory sentence of two years to be served consecutively with any other sentence imposed.
Simpson faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the false statement charge.
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