Man Cut Off His Own Foot for Insurance Payout, Ends Up With Nothing

A Brazilian man has been convicted for faking a brutal attack and subsequent amputation of his own foot in a scheme to defraud insurance companies out of more than $220,000. Vanderley dos Santos Gomes, a technical administrative assistant at the Federal University of Reconcavo da Bahia, was found guilty of staging a robbery to claim payouts from four life and accident insurance policies.

Investigators determined that Gomes took out the policies in June and July 2019, which would have paid out approximately 1.5 million Brazilian reais (about $220,000) in case of permanent disability. Just weeks later, he reported being kidnapped and having his right foot severed with a machete. He was found injured in a rural area, and his foot was later discovered in a backpack with items he claimed were stolen.

However, the speed at which the policies were taken out, their high value, and the timing of the alleged injury raised suspicions. Forensic experts further undermined his story, concluding that the amputation was too precise to have been caused by a machete attack, indicating a surgical technique was used.

Gomes denied organizing the fraud, but a court in Bahia upheld the conviction after reviewing medical records, police reports, and witness testimonies. He was sentenced to two years in prison, which was commuted to 720 hours of community service and a fine of approximately $1,100. He began serving his sentence in May after exhausting his legal options.