08/18/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Tara Monks // Tara Monks
Salem, MA – A man who faked his death in order to avoid charges of driving without a license will now be charged with forgery and counterfeiting, as reported by CBS News.
Michael Rosen, 42, of Salem, was charged with driving without a license, and had several warrants on him. ABC WISN reported that Rosen, instead of attending his hearing, went to the courthouse pretending to be his brother, and presented county clerks with a death certificate.
The judge, upon being informed of Rosen’s death, dismissed the traffic case.
All was happy go lucky, until a probation officer who had recently spoken to Rosen grew suspicious. The officer called his counterpart in Concord District Court and found that Rosen checked in with that officer four days after he supposedly died.
Investigation into the case of Rosen showed the death certificate had spelling errors in the place of birth, cause of death and cemetery name. Salem officials deduced the document was fake, as it also lacked a raised seal and was printed on the wrong paper.
Rosen, who has a lengthy record of prior forgery charges, has not been seen since.
Police are hoping anyone with information will come forward.
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