Charles Gavett did not get famous for the size of his insurance fraud, but for his audacity and bad taste. While most of the US grieved for the dead, Gavett claimed that his wife, Cindy, died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. However, she was really alive and safe in their home. They lived in a fairly small community, and their plans to collect $200,000 from their mortgage life insurance policy were thwarted when neighbors reported they had seen her in town since the attacks.