Robert Berger really did not want to go to jail.
The 25-year-old was previously charged with fourth-degree possession of stolen property in December 2018, and third-degree attempted grand larceny in June 2019; he pleaded guilty to both charges. Berger was originally scheduled to be sentenced to jail on October 22, 2019, but during the hearing, Bereger's former attorney, Meir Moza, said that Berger had died.
Moza then confessed. He informed the judge that Berger, "engaged in a conspiracy and used him to attempt to perpetrate a fraud" against his office and prosecutors, and that he was ending his representation of him.
Investigators later found that Berger had fled the state, and was currently jailed in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, after being arrested in November 2019 on unrelated charges. He was extradited to Nassau County in January.
Moza said he had been working on a plea deal for Berger until he decided to fake his own death. Now, he faces up to four more years in jail due to additional charges.