Huntington Man Faked His Death To Avoid Jail Time: Nassau DA

MINEOLA, NY — A Huntington man was arraigned today after authorities say he tried to fake his own death in order to avoid a sentence for previous crimes.

Robert Berger, 25, was arraigned on charges of offering a false instrument for filing. His bail was set at $1, but he remains in custody for the previous crimes. He is due back in court on July 29, and faces up to four years in prison for the new charge.

“Typos and formatting errors gave up what we allege is a forged death certificated that this defendant used to avoid accountability for other crimes,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “Submitting fake documents to prosecutors is always a bad idea, and while he’d have been caught regardless, failure to use spell check made this alleged fraud especially glaring.”

According to Singas, Berger was facing sentencing for two felony charges in unrelated cases. On Dec. 12, 2018, he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree possession of stolen property for driving a stolen Lexus. On June 6, 2019, he pleaded guilty to third-degree attempted grand larceny for trying to steal a pickup truck.

Berger was supposed to be sentenced on Oct. 22, 2019. However, Singas said that a representative from his former attorney, Meir Moza, Esq., told the court that Berger had died and would provide proof of death to have the sentences dismissed.

Singas said that on Oct. 28, 2019, Moza gave the DA's office a New Jersey death certificate for Berger, which said that he had killed himself by suffocation. Moza said he was given the death certificate by Berger's fiance.

The DA's office inspected the certificate, Singas said, and saw that the font style and size changed within the document, and also noticed a typo in the form. The DA's office contacted the New Jersey Department of Health, Vital Statistics and Registry and confirmed that the certificate was fraudulent.

After learning of the fraud, Singas said that Moza made an application to end his representation of Berger. The fraudulent certificate was also given to the Suffolk County district attorney, Singas said, in connection with criminal cases that were pending there.

Singas said that Berger had left the state, and was arrested on Nov. 14, 2019 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on charges that included providing a false identity to law enforcement. He was extradited to Nassau County on Jan. 21, 2020.