A Massapequa man was sentenced Tuesday to a year in jail for helping his father fake his drowning death at Jones Beach in a plot to collect his life insurance payout and start his life over.
Jonathan Roth, who had pleaded guilty last year at Nassau County court to falsely reporting an incident, has already served five months in jail since his arrest.
Prosecutors said the 23-year-old called 911 to report his father, Raymond Roth, missing in the Atlantic Ocean on July 28, 2012.
U.S. Coast Guard, New York State Park Police, Nassau police and town bay constables searched the water for days before Raymond Roth was found to be alive and well in his Orlando timeshare.
Jonathan Roth’s stepmother soon after gave investigators emails between her husband and stepson outlining the plan to fake his Raymond’s death, split the $410,000 insurance payout and move to Florida.
Raymond Roth pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and agreed to pay $27,445 restitution to the U.S. Coast Guard and $9,109 to Nassau police for the cost of the search. He faces up to 4 years in prison when he is sentenced.
Hours after entering that plea before Judge Tammy Robbins in March 2013, Raymond Roth allegedly told a woman in Freeport that he was a police officer, threatened to arrest her if she didn’t get in his truck and then chased her into a store, authorities have said.
Raymond Roth has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping, attempted unlawful imprisonment, attempted coercion, attempted burglary and criminal impersonation in that case.
Opening statements are scheduled to start Tuesday in that trial. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the alleged kidnapping try.
