JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Federal charges were formally filed against the Jacksonville businessman who authorities say faked his own death two years ago, then lived below the radar in the mountains of North Carolina while his wife was waiting to collect on $9 million in life insurance policies.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Western North Carolina said Jose Lantigua, 62, was charged with passport fraud and aggravated identity theft. His wife, Daphne Sylvia Simpson, 57, was also charged with one count of making false statements to a federal agent.
That charge come from accusations that Lantigua was using the identity of Ernest Allen Wills after applying for a passport in that name.
COURT RECORD: Federal indictment of Jose Lantigua
Daphne Simpson, who is facing insurance fraud charges in Jacksonville after allegedly receiving payouts on Lantigua's life insurance.
According to the indictment, Simpson told a special agent that the man who was with her at the time was "Ernest Wills" who was her "friend," when Simpson knew that the man was actually her husband, Lantigua.
Prosecutors said Lantigua and his wife were living in a home near Ashville.
According to documents from the wife's arrest on insurance fraud, a worker said there was a secret room in the home where a man resembling Lantigua had been living.
Lantigua is in federal custody and will be until at least his next hearing in federal court in North Carolina. Simpson remains in jail in Duval County.
According to online records, lawyers for the insurance companies were scheduled to take her deposition in jail Wednesday and are scheduled to go to North Carolina to take Lantigua's depositions on April 29.
Attorney Randy Reep, who is not affiliated with the case, said that while he will likely have to face the charges soon, a trial is unlikely to happen.
"The evidence is tremendous," Reep said. "This is more of a negotiation case and a resolving case. As it sits right now, the facts are the same. Each jurisdiction would want to try them together, but that is months and months away."
If convicted, Lantigua faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the passport fraud charge. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a minimum mandatory sentence of two years to be served consecutively with any other sentence imposed.
Simpson's arraignment was scheduled for April 15, but according to records, her lawyer has already filed a written not guilty plea on each of eight counts of insurance fraud.
Simpson faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
"Ultimately, the state's going to let her go to face the federal charges," Reep said. "Keep in mind, she will still have to come back and face the state charges. It could be years to come, but she will still face them."