Jonathan Roth has been arrested for his role in a scheme that led his father to fake his own death on Long Island.
The son of the Long Island swimmer was in police custody but still denies any wrongdoing in the incident, WPIX 11 reported. His father Raymond Roth disappeared from Jones Beach on July 28 with his son Jonathan Roth reporting him missing and setting into motion a massive air and water search that cost thousands of dollars.
Jonathan Roth is charged with insurance fraud in the second degree, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud in the second degree, and falsely reporting an incident in the third degree, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office stated. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted, the New York Daily News reported .
After Jonathan Roth was arrested, police transported the 22-year-old to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
Raymond’s wife, Evana Roth, later told reporters that the disappearance was faked and said she found emails from her husband to her son. Jonathan Roth disputes the claim, saying he never received any emails. Roth claimed that Raymond borrowed her car to pick up Jonathan, who helped him carry out the plan
“Dad went into the water and didn’t come back out,” the son told Evana, the New York Daily News reported.
Raymond Roth turned up in South Carolina the next week after officers there stopped him for speeding. The officer noticed that Roth was on the national registry of missing people, but the officer let Roth go when he said that he was heading back to New York.
Roth has not turned up since, and his wife has taken out a restraining order on her allegedly abusive husband.
The District Attorney’s office said they are following up Jonathan Roth’s arrest with further interviews of family members and a continued search for Raymond Roth.
