Dentist 'faked car crash death'
A dentist is to stand trial over claims he faked his own death to make a £1.75m life insurance claim.
Emmanouil Parisis - who changed his name to Neil McClaren - appeared in a Devon court charged with conspiracy to defraud financial institutions.
It is alleged he assumed a fresh identity and moved to Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, after his "death".
He appeared in the dock with his wife Stiliani Theodoropoulou, 40, and her sister Nikoletta Theodoropoulou, 41.
No pleas were taken in the case and Exeter Crown Court heard that the trio could stand trial in mid-January of next year.
Prosecutor David Gittins claimed in court that father-of-four Mr McClaren, 46, staged his own death in a car crash in Amman in Jordan last year.
Mr Gittins claimed that the three defendants conspired together to then make false claims for a total £1.75m in payouts on his life insurance.
Remanded in custody
Police became involved after complaints were received from NHS and other financial institutions in February this year after money had been paid out
The court heard that Mr McClaren and his sister-in-law were arrested in Peterhead last month after they had moved there in April.
His wife was also arrested at their family home in Barnstaple, North Devon - the same town where her husband worked in the St John's Dental Centre.
There will be a plea and case management hearing in mid-November.
The three defendants, who are all Greek nationals, were remanded in custody.
They each face a total of five charges under the Fraud Act.