US man sentenced to jail for staging own death

Dubai: A Wisconsin man who staged his own death in an elaborate scheme to meet a woman he had connected with online has been sentenced to 89 days in jail, the same number of days he was missing and presumed dead.

The man, 45-year-old Ryan Burgwardt, vanished in May 2023 after telling his wife he was going kayaking on Green Lake.

When he failed to return, authorities believed he had drowned. No body was recovered, and for nearly three months, his family mourned while investigators searched in vain.

Court documents later revealed that Burgwardt had obtained a new passport, cancelled financial services, and purchased life insurance as part of a plan to fake his death.

Prosecutors said he had “carefully studied how to disappear,” knowing that the depth of Green Lake would make recovery of a body unlikely.

He also cleared his browser history and sought information on transferring money abroad.

Authorities eventually located him in Georgia, where he was persuaded to return to Wisconsin and face charges.

In court, Burgwardt expressed remorse. “I feel deep regret for my actions that night and for the pain I caused my family and friends,” he said, according to ABC News.

Four months after his return, his wife of 22 years filed for divorce.

Prosecutors argued that his plan, which was intended to allow him to travel to Uzbekistan to meet a woman he had met online, had inflicted lasting damage on his family.

“His scheme to fake his death was designed to destroy his family while serving his selfish desires,” Green Lake County District Attorney Gerise LaSpisa said in court.

The judge handed down the 89-day sentence last week, symbolically matching the number of days Burgwardt had been presumed dead.