Woman Fakes Daughter’s Death for Vacation Time

Joan Barnett really, really, REALLY wanted to stay in Costa Rica for another week so she decided that she would fake her daughter’s death.

Barnett, a parent coordinator at the Manhattan High School of Hospitality, was vacationing with her daughters in Costa Rica over spring break in 2010 when the final days of her vacation quickly approached. Barnett just couldn’t part with the sandy beaches of Costa Rica so she decided that the best plan of action was to fake her daughter’s death.

According to the NY Daily News, Barnett had one of her daughter’s call the school to tell them that her sister had suffered a heart attack. Another daughter called to tell the school about the funeral plans. And finally, Barnett forged a death certificate to make sure that she had her bereavement days, I mean, extra vacation days.

Barnett’s scam earned her two and a half weeks of fun and relaxation in Costa Rica. And then, it cost her her job.

The school’s principal became suspicious of the death certificate because the text wasn’t aligned correctly. When the school contacted the Costa Rican government they found out that the identification numbers used in the certificate actually corresponded to a man’s death in 2005.

The Costa Rican government assured the school that it “does not issue death certificates five years prior to a person’s date of death.”

Barnett lost her job and eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of forgery.

Have you ever told a crazy lie to get out of work?