Current timestamp: 19/07/2025 09:04:13
AgeAlertAnonymousAppealsApplicationsApply Or RegisterArea OutlineArrow DownArrow LeftArrow RightArrow UpAutomatic DoorsBack ArrowBusinessCalendarCashArrow DownArrow LeftArrow RightArrow Down[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-chrome' for 'English (United Kingdom)']ClockCloseContactDirectionsDocumentDownloadDrawDrugExpandExternal LinkFacebookFb CommentFb LikeFiletype DefaultFiletype DocFiletype PdfFiletype PptFiletype XlsFinance[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-firefox' for 'English (United Kingdom)']First AidFlickrFraudGive FeedbackGlobeGuide DogHealthHearing ImpairedInduction LoopInfoInstagramIntercom[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-internet-explorer' for 'English (United Kingdom)']LaptopLiftLinkedinLocal Activity[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-location' for 'English (United Kingdom)']LoudspeakerLow CounterMailMapMap PinMembershipMenuMenu 2[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-microsoft-edge' for 'English (United Kingdom)']Missing PeopleMobility ImpairmentNationalityNorth PointerOne Mile RadiusOverviewPagesPaper PlaneParkingPdfPhonePinterestPlayPushchairRefreshReportRequestRestart[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-rotate-clockwise' for 'English (United Kingdom)']Rss[Missing text '/SvgIcons/Symbols/Titles/icon-safari' for 'English (United Kingdom)']SearchShareSign LanguageSnapchatStart AgainStatsStats And Prevention AdviceStopSubscribeTargetTattosTell Us AboutTickTumblrTwenty Four HoursTwitter LikeTwitter ReplyTwitter RetweetUploadVisually ImpairedWhatsappWheelchairWheelchair AssistedWheelchair ParkingWheelchair RampWheelchair WcYoutubeZoom InZoom Out

Leave this site

Cookies

We use some essential cookies to make our website work. We’d like to set additional cookies so we can remember your preferences and understand how you use our site.

You can manage your preferences and cookie settings at any time by clicking on “Customise Cookies” below. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Cookies notice.

Accept cookies Reject cookies Customise cookies

Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.

Your cookie preferences have been saved. You can update your cookie settings at any time on the cookies page.

Sorry, there was a technical problem. Please try again.

Skip to main content

Skip to main navigation

Welcome

This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.

Show me the site

Go to City of London Police homepage

  • Back to Report

    • Crime
    • Road traffic incident
    • Report antisocial behaviour
    • Report a missing person
    • Fraud
    • Spiking
    • Lost or found property
    • Lost or stolen vehicles
    • Hate crime
  • Back to Tell us about

    • Tell us about possible terrorist activity
    • How to tell us about something you've seen or heard
    • An existing case or report
    • A procession or event you are planning
  • Back to Apply or register

    • Careers and volunteering
    • Charity collection licences
    • Compensation for victims of crime
    • Firearm, shotgun or explosives certificate
    • Attend a misconduct hearing
  • Back to Request

    • A collision report
    • Intellectual property (IP) licence
    • Compensation for something the police have done
    • Request your fingerprints
    • Information: about the police, about yourself or someone else
  • Back to Thanks and complaints

    • Feedback about the website
    • Complaints
    • Say thanks
  • Your area
  1. ...
  2. News

CHEATING DEATH: Wife sentenced after faking husband’s death for insurance claim worth nearly £400k

Main article content

IFED
Published: 13:58 15/03/2021

A woman from London has been sentenced after attempting to defraud her insurer through a fraudulent life insurance claim worth £397,153.

Thuile Bhebhe, 51, reported that her husband had died in Zimbabwe in August 2016, submitting false documents to her insurer, Aviva, in order to substantiate her claim. Discrepancies in the paperwork submitted by Mrs Bhebhe raised the insurance company’s suspicions, leading them to carry out further enquiries into the case. Simple checks quickly revealed that her husband was alive and well, and in fact working his shift as a nurse at a London hospital on the day he was alleged to have died thousands of miles away.

Mrs Bhebhe of Hayes End Road, Hayes, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on 15 March 2021, to two years imprisonment suspended for two years and 100 hours of community service, with a twenty-five day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement. She had previously pleaded guilty at City of London Magistrates Court in November 2018.

The City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), who led the investigation, first became aware of Mrs Bhebhe’s fraud following a referral from Aviva.

Detective Constable James Rafiq, from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, said:

“Mrs Bhebhe tried to exploit Aviva and steal nearly £400,000 by shamelessly claiming her husband had died. Although she has shown remorse, these fraudulent actions have tainted years of commendable work as NHS nurses for both her and her husband.

“Thanks to Aviva’s diligence when initially reviewing the claim, and their swift action in referring it to IFED for further investigation, Mrs Bhebhe’s ridiculous lie was exposed and she has been rightly punished.”

In August 2016, Mrs Bhebhe contacted Aviva to submit the claim on the life insurance policy she shared with her husband, stating that he had died in Zimbabwe a few weeks earlier. Evidence of his death was presented by Mrs Bhebhe, including a death certificate from a Zimbabwean hospital declaring a pulmonary embolism as the cause of death, alongside an application form for a post-mortem examination, which had supposedly been registered by her husband’s cousin in Zimbabwe shortly after his death.

During an interview conducted at her home on behalf of Aviva, Mrs Bhebhe stuck to her fabricated story, even asserting that she had attended her husband’s burial. Meanwhile, records obtained from the NHS revealed that the husband had worked a long day shift at Charing Cross Hospital on the alleged date of his death in Zimbabwe.

IFED officers executed a search warrant at the Bhebhes’ address, discovering several documents in relation to the claim, such as a copy of the fake death certificate submitted to Aviva. Mrs Bhebhe was later interviewed at a nearby police station, where she admitted in full to the fraud offences.

Jacqueline Kerwood, Claims Governance Manager for Individual Protection at Aviva, said: 

“This was a particularly audacious act of dishonesty by Mrs Bhebhe – in attempting to claim nearly £400,000 by falsely claiming her own husband’s death. Fortunately, it was quickly detected by our expert investigators, and we’re pleased to see justice has been done. This is also very good news for our genuine customers, who ultimately bear the cost of fraud through their premiums. In this case however, it’s Mrs Bhebhe who will pay the cost for her crime.”

Share

Footer navigation

City of London Police

  • Contact us
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Become a police constable
  • News
  • Find a police station
  • Campaigns
  • Privacy Notice
  • Cookies
  • Terms and conditions

Information and services

  • Advice and information
  • Crime prevention advice
  • Stats and data
  • Accessing information
  • Report
  • Tell us about
  • Apply or register
  • Request
  • Feedback

Partners

  • Police.uk
  • Ask the Police
  • City of London Corporation

Follow us on:

© Copyright 2025. All rights reserved.