MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - The Long Island man who allegedly faked his own death in a scheme to collect on a life insurance policy has been arrested.
Raymond Roth will be arraigned later Wednesday, New York State Park Police Capt. Bruce Marx said. Roth's attorney said his client will plead not guilty.
It's been two weeks since Roth disappeared from Jones Beach, leaving the world to think he had drowned while authorities said he was actually alive and well at a resort in Florida.
The alleged plot went wrong when Roth's wife Evana said she stumbled on emails between him and his 22-year-old son Jonathan Roth, who was arrested and charged in connection with the case.
Now free on bail, the younger Roth's attorney Joey Jackson said Tuesday that his client is a victim.
"This case, in and of itself, is about three things in my mind," Jackson said. "It's about coercion, it's about the abuse we talked about and it's about manipulation."
Jonathan Roth has pleaded not guilty to insurance fraud, conspiracy and falsely reporting an incident.
Now, the elder Roth is expected to face similar criminal charges after spending about 10 days involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital.
Raymond Roth's attorney Brian Davis said his client tried to commit suicide after being caught and learning his son had been arrested.
"He was upset, but he was under medication," Davis said. "Took him a while to absorb it."
Davis blames Roth's alleged actions on being fired, a blow he said set off a series of irrational moves.
"Putting the house up for sale right away, giving away his suits to charity," Davis said. "Nothing there was rational. Psychiatric illness."
Prosecutors said the younger Roth helped his father fake his own death so he could obtain more than $50,000 in life insurance policies.