Man loses his feet & jailed after trying to scam insurance companies out of $1m

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A fellow found himself without his feet following an attempt to deceive insurance firms out of a million dollars. He resorted to immersing his legs in dry ice for approximately ten hours as part of his scheme. Consequently, he received a suspended jail term.

Over a span of 18 years, from 2005 to early 2023, an individual identified merely as Zhang acquired numerous insurance policies from no fewer than five distinct companies.

Together with an old high school companion, whom I’ve only referred to as Liao, we devised a scheme to capitalize on insurance settlements at the beginning of 2023.

A duo put a container full of solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) and it was Zhang who immersed his feet into it. To prevent him from accidentally removing his feet or getting injured, he was securely fastened to a chair for approximately 10 hours.

Prison sentences handed out for dry ice fraudsters

According to the account, two days after the incident, Zhang visited Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei for treatment. There he was diagnosed with serious frostbite, along with other wounds, leading to the amputation of both his feet.

Instead, he told his insurance company that he sustained frostbite while riding a motorcycle as a means to receive compensation for both his health and accident-related issues.

In 2024, Zhang and Liao faced fraud charges after filing claims with all five insurance companies they held policies with, collectively seeking approximately $1.4 million (NT$41.26 million). Only one company paid out $8000 to Zhang. Regrettably, the remaining four insurers did not honor their claims.

According to the South China Morning Post, on June 20, 2025, Zhang received a prison sentence suspension for a period of two years, whereas Liao was given a six-year prison term.

As a gamer, I’ve been through some tough levels that tested my limits, but nothing compares to what Zhang experienced – he took on an unimaginable amount of damage from his own actions. On the other hand, Liao, in a sense, was the game designer pulling all the strings behind the scenes.

It’s known that Zhang managed to reach agreements with multiple insurance companies, unlike Liao who did not. This is why the situation remains unresolved for him over a longer period.

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2025-06-25 14:50