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A SUSPECTED German fraudster who allegedly faked her own death to avoid trial for embezzling £1million was given away by her giant pet poodle.
Inna Z, 51, was arrested by Spanish police in Majorca after officials doubted the claim she had been killed in a car accident, and will appear in court on Monday.
Her giant poodle was noticed walking the streets and led investigators back to the exec.
The tax adviser was accused of defrauding around £900,000 from the German solar power firm she worked for.
She was summoned to court in November 2020, but her sister reported she had been killed in a car crash of March that year.
It said: “We regret to announce the sad passing of our founding partner in a traffic accident.”
A death certificate was provided, but her company in Rostock, north Germany, smelt a rat and hired private detectives to investigate.
They discovered that her social media was still active, meaning Inna was either still alive or being impersonated.
They also found out she owned a giant poodle.
The pooch became the object of their search, and was spotted out for a walk in Santa Ponca, Majorca.
Large poodles are not a common sight on the island, so the canine stuck out.
It led the team to a swanky villa in the town – and the supposedly dead Inna.
She had cut her hair and changed its colour to drastically alter her appearance.
Inna admitted to staging her demise after false documents were found in the house.
Appearing in court soon after her arrest, she said: “It was clear they were going to catch me, but I wanted some time.”
The prosecutor’s office has estimated the total amount she defrauded sits at around £5million.
This week she reached a plea deal where she will avoid jail if she repays £1.5million.
Her sister Anna, who wrote the email to the court, will also avoid jail.
It comes as a British dad died this week on the island when he fell off a wall onto rocks.
Ben Clark, 41, died instantly when he plunged 15ft in the early hours of Friday morning.
His daughter, Kaci Fraya, is believed to have been on the Spanish holiday to Cala Agulla on the island’s northeast coast with her dad at the time of his death.
