'Malicious American Father' Who Killed Two Sons for Insurance Money... Sentenced to 212 Years in Prison

A diver searching the scene when Elmejen staged a fake car accident in 2015. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] A man in his 40s in the United States was sentenced to 212 years in prison for killing his two autistic sons to claim life insurance benefits.

According to major foreign media on the 11th (local time), a court in California, USA, announced that it handed down the maximum sentence to Ali Elmezen (45), who was charged with insurance fraud and the murder of his two sons.

According to the court, in April 2015, Elmezen deliberately drove a car carrying his ex-wife and two sons into the sea at the San Pedro Pier in Los Angeles (LA).

Elmezen quickly swam out through the driver's side window, which he had opened in advance, but his two sons, aged 8 and 13, who had autism, drowned.

Elmezen also attempted to kill his ex-wife, who could not swim, by staging her death as drowning, but she was barely rescued with the help of a fisherman near the accident site.

After the deaths of his two sons, Elmezen received $260,000 (about 290 million KRW) in insurance money. He reportedly sent most of this amount to his hometown in Egypt and used the money to purchase boats and real estate.

Eventually, he was charged in 2019 with telebanking fraud, identity theft, money laundering, and other offenses.

The prosecution emphasized, "Although there was no jurisdiction to indict him for the murder of his two sons, the essence of the case is that he killed his own family members under the pretext of claiming insurance money."

They added, "He is a greedy and cruel murderer who executed an evil and devilish plan," and criticized, "The defendant's only regret is that he was caught."

Between 2012 and 2013, Elmezen systematically committed murder by subscribing to various life insurance policies with a total compensation amounting to $3 million under his and his family's names.

At that time, he reported to tax authorities that his annual income was only $30,000 due to company bankruptcy, but he paid $6,000 annually just for insurance premiums. After subscribing to the insurance, he repeatedly called the insurance companies to confirm the benefits related to family deaths.

Furthermore, according to the prosecution, Elmezen physically and mentally abused his ex-wife for years and neglected the children.

The prosecution requested the maximum sentence of 212 years, which the court accepted, and ordered Elmezen to pay restitution of $260,000, the amount he received from the life insurance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.