He faked his death for a new life overseas, but it only led to jail and a $30,000 penalty

Ryan Borgwardt, a 45-year-old man from Wisconsin, was sentenced to 89 days in the Green Lake County jail this week after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing an officer. The charges stemmed from his attempt to fake his own death and start a new life abroad with a woman he met online.

The sentence was nearly double what the prosecution had asked for in the plea deal. According to the presiding judge, he factored in “deterrence” for the defendant and anyone else considering faking their own death.

89 days corresponds with the number of days law enforcement spent looking for Borgwardt. “. If you persist in your deception, the longer you obstruct, the longer you are complicit. Instead of coming forward and admitting your mistake, the longer the penalty should be,” said Judge Mark Slate from the bench.

Kayaking trip accident to hide escape abroad

Authorities began searching for Borgwardt on 12 August 2024 when he was reported missing by his wife, with whom he shares three children. He had told her the night before that he was kayaking on Green Lake, roughly 50 miles north of his family’s home in Watertown, which is located roughly halfway between Milwaukee and Madison.

After overturning his kayak out in the lake during the night, tossed his lifejacket and personal identification in the lake to be found by authorities. He then paddled back to shore in an inflatable raft.

Borgwardt then made the 70-mile trip to Madison on an electric bicycle where he caught a bus to Toronto. There he took a plane to Paris and another to a country in Asia.

He was picked up at the airport by an Uzbekistani woman with whom Borgwardt had been chatting with online for several months and to whom he had professed his love and desire to start a new life. The two finally ended up in the European country of Georgia.

Dogged law enforcement won’t give up the search

Borgwardt had counted on law enforcement writing him off as dead and giving up the search quickly. He was wrong. After they spent 58 days searching for his body and couldn’t find one, they began to do some digging.

Green Lake County District Attorney Gerise LaSpisa explained that investigators discovered that Borgwardt had opened a new bank account and took out a life insurance policy.

He also had his passport replaced, saying it was lost or stolen. He left his original one in the family safe for his wife to find.

It was also uncovered that he had reversed his vasectomy. And despite wiping his computer, law enforcement found his communications with his paramour and that he had inquired about transferring money abroad.

On top of that, law enforcement discovered that Canadian authorities had checked Borgwardt’s name the day after he was reported missing.

They finally tracked Borgwardt down in November and convinced him to return to the US the following month. Upon returning he surrendered to authorities and was charged with obstructing the search for his body.

His wife of 22 years divorced him four months after he returned claiming that their marriage was “irretrievably broken,” WISN 12 News reported.

Erik Johnson, Borgwardt’s attorney, said after sentencing that his client “deeply regrets” his actions, and that he returned to the US to “make amends.” Johnson also shared that Borgwardt has already paid the $30,000 in restitution for law enforcement expenses to find him agreed to in the plea deal.

“His entire plan to fake his death to devastate his family in order to serve his own selfish desires hinged on him dying in the lake and selling his death to the world,” LaSpisa said prior to sentencing. “The defendant did not count on the determination and dedication of our law enforcement.”

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