NEW YORK, May 13 (UPI) -- A common-law New Jersey couple has been charged with insurance fraud after a 10-month investigation into the man's 10-day disappearance.
Derek Nicholson and Nikole Nagle, both of Tinton Falls, N.J., were charged after investigations by the Coast Guard, the FBI and the United States Postal Service, the New York Times said Thursday.
Nicholson disappeared from the Jersey Shore on July 26, 2003, launching a search by two Coast Guard boats, a helicopter, scuba divers and countless volunteers, Lt. Bruce Johantgen of the Long Branch Police Department said.
Nothing was found but his shoes. But 10 days later, someone called the New York City police to report a disoriented man in Manhattan. It turned out to be Nicholson, 30, who at the time told police he had amnesia and did not know who he was or where he lived.
Four days before he disappeared, Nicholson had taken out a $1 million insurance policy by falsely claiming he earned $80,000 a year, although he was unemployed at the time.
The couple appeared in court Wednesday. Nagle was released on $100,000 bail, while Nicholson was being held without bail as a flight risk.
