A New York man attempted to avoid a jail sentence by faking his death but the falsified death certificate revealed a small typo that ruined his chances.
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Prosecutors reported on Tuesday that 25-year-old Robert Berger submitted a fake death certificate to avoid pending sentences after pleading guilty for stealing a Lexus and grand larceny. As reported by NBC New York, Berger fled to New Jersey to avoid serving in a year in jail last October. He managed to convince his lawyer, prosecutors, and the judge that he committed suicide and used his fiance to submit the death certificate to his then-lawyer.
The certificate did look like it was issued by the New Jersey Department of Health, Vital Statistics, and Registry but one word was misspelled. Registry was spelled as “Regsitry and there were errors with the font and size used on the document.
“After calling to verify the certificate with the New Jersey Department of Health, Vital Statistics, and Registry, investigators confirmed the certificate was, in fact, fraudulent.”
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Berger was also arrested in Philadelphia after submitting the death certificate after providing false identification to police and stealing from a Catholic college. He was sentenced to serve one year in January. As for the document, Berger pleaded not guilty for offering a false instrument for filing and had a bail set for $1 but he is ordered to return to court on July 29 for his other cases. He faces up to four years in prison.