A UK man who scammed his next-door neighbor out of £40,000 ($64,000) spent the last two years faking a coma to avoid facing his charges in court.
Conman Alan Knight, 47, and his family claimed he was a quadriplegic, had no movement from his neck down, and was hooked up to oxygen, reports Daily Mail.
Knight's hospital check-ins claiming his condition worsened align with the court dates sent to him. He was also caught eating, wiping his face and writing while on observations - things that a quadriplegic would be unable to do.
Police also saw the man on CCTV walking around a Tesco store and driving his car.
Knight got out of his first two court dates (in Sept. 2012 and July 2013) because of his "medical condition," but after police discovered he was faking the illness they told him he would have to stand trial whether he was present or not, reports Daily Mail.
He showed up to court wearing a neck brace and sitting in a wheelchair pushed by his wife.
"Although a very accomplished and determined actor, he is nothing like in the condition he claims to be, and the conditions he claims to be suffering from are simply non existent," Judge Thomas said in court.
Knight admitted to 19 seperate charges of forgery, fraud and theft over more than a year and he will be sentenced in November.
