He might have got away with it
if it hadn't been for his supermarket loyalty
card.
A British fraudster who pretended to be
quadriplegic and sometimes comatose for two
years to avoid prosecution has been convicted
after police caught him on camera driving and
strolling around supermarkets.
Alan Knight of Swansea, Wales, stole more than
40,000 pounds ($64,000) from the bank
account of an elderly neighbor with Alzheimer's
disease, prosecutors said.
When police began investigating, the 47-year-
old Knight claimed to be quadriplegic and so
sick he sometimes fell into a coma. He checked
himself into a hospital to avoid court
appearances, saying he was having seizures.
The South Wales Evening Post reported
Wednesday that the suspect's wife, Helen
Knight, had written to the newspaper saying
her husband had obtained a doctor's letter
certifying he was "quadriplegic and in a
comatose condition, bed-bound at home" after a
neck injury.
"We've been through absolute hell and we're
still going through hell," she wrote, according to
the newspaper.
Knight's deceit was uncovered when police
tracked the use of his supermarket card, and
produced surveillance camera footage of him
walking and driving.
Warned that the trial would go ahead whether
he was present or not, Knight arrived at
Swansea Crown Court Tuesday in a wheelchair
and neck brace. Faced with the video evidence,
he pleaded guilty to 19 counts of forgery, fraud
and theft. His wife has not been charged with
any offense.
Judge Paul Thomas said Knight was "a very
accomplished and determined actor ... and the
conditions he claims to be suffering from are
simply nonexistent."
"His illnesses coincide with impending court
appearances. I do not believe the symptoms are
genuine," the judge was quoted as saying by the
South Wales Evening Post.
Knight is due to be sentenced Nov. 7.
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