Insurance fraud is extremely common because many claimants know that an excuse with an evidence is the only thing that separates them from the money they sought after.
In Slovenia, a woman went to great length to obtain some benefit or advantage she wasn't entitled to.
And that is by deliberately amputating her own hand with a circular saw to make a fraudulent insurance fraud.
Without a left hand, which was severed right above the wrist, and a grand excuse, she and her boyfriend went on to claim the insurance money. It was a scheme about to succeed, but failed because the pair made a few mistakes.
The woman went to jail, and upon getting out, she is making up for her mistakes by becoming a social media avid user.
The young woman becomes an Instagram influencer, who poses and models, sans one hand.
It all began when the case caught the public's attention, when it's said that a court in Slovenia sentenced Julija Adlešič to two years in prison for deliberately cutting off her own hand.
She was found guilty of attempted insurance fraud.
The idea about the fraud happened about a year earlier, when Adlešič signed contracts with five different insurance companies, the court said.
The district court in Ljubljana said Adlešič agreed with her boyfriend, Sebastien Abramov, to have her left hand severed at their home in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana early in 2019.
After amputating her hand, Adlešič and her boyfriend went to a hospital, and in the emergency room, Adlešič said that she had injured herself while sawing branches.
But here's the first awkward thing: the authorities said that the couple left the severed hand behind, rather than bringing it in to the hospital with them.
It's long known that a severed appendage, and even limbs can be reattached.
In fact, reattachments have been performed on various severed body parts, including fingers, hands, forearms, arms, toes, feet, legs, ears, scalp, face, lips, penis and a tongue. As for children, reattachments can be performed on almost any body part.
But to do so, the severed part of the body has to be reattached as soon as possible, with the microsurgery procedure must be performed within several hours of the part's amputation, to ensure the reattachments and the refunctioning of the nerves and vessels.
In this case, it's allegedly said Adlešič left left hand behind to ensure her disability was permanent.
Fortunately, the authorities were quick, and managed to bring back the hand to the hospital where Adlešič was at, and reattached it just in time.
Prosecutors said that days before the incident, Adlešič’s partner searched for information on the internet about how artificial hands work.
They claimed that this was another proof that the self-amputation was done intentionally.
If the fraud was successful, Adlešič could have collected more than €1 million, with about half paid immediately and the rest in regular monthly installments.
Another thing, Adlešič had been deep in debt and was going through personal bankruptcy proceedings at the time of the fraud, the court heard.
While Adlešič received two years prison time, Abramov was sentenced to three years in prison.
Abramov's parents, Tinka Huskić Colarič and Gorazd Colarič, were also found guilty by the court for their part in the plot. Abramov's mother initially received a suspended sentence of one year and six months, whereas his father was given a suspended sentence of one year, with a probationary period of three years.
The younger Abramov received the longest sentence because he is seen as the brain behind the scheme. It was his idea to take disability insurance policies for Adlešič with five separate companies.
Throughout the trial, Adlešič had denied intentionally cutting off her hand.
During the trial, the woman claimed innocence, saying she would never have cut off her hand deliberately.
"No one wants to be crippled," she told the court. "My youth has been destroyed. I lost my hand at the age of 20. Only I know how it happened."
The trial has attracted lots of public and media attention in the country, especially in the small Alpine state.
It's worth noting that the court upheld the prosecution's proposal, sentencing Adlešič and Abramov to prison sentences, only after their admission of guilt, as they have already served most of their sentences in custody.
They pled guilty in November.
"We believe the sentences are fair and appropriate, and will serve their purpose," judge Marjeta Dvornik said.
She added that their crimes were a reflection of the values in our society, where the need and greed for material goods seem to be increasingly emphasized.
It's then revealed that Abramov mother was found not guilty because of insufficient evidence.
Abramov's lawyer Mitja Pavčič speaking of "human rights violations," said that his client was "extremely pleased that his mother was found not guilty and that Julija was released from house arrest, but he is disappointed with the conviction."
Following her release, Adlešič becomes an Instagram user who frequently share her photos to the world.
While it's reported that surgeons attempted to reattach the severed appendage, Adlešič consistently conceals her left hand, which suggests that the reattachment didn’t entirely work out.
Or, she only wants the world to know that she's indeed permanently crippled.
It's said that she had applied to numerous jobs, but cannot get the job she wanted because of her severed hand.