Dad Who Faked Death to Be with Lover Faces Shocking Sentence

I deeply regret the actions that I did. that night and all the pain that I. caused my family and friends. >> It's the ending no one saw coming in a. case that captivated Wisconsin for more. than a year. Ryan Borgwart, the husband. and father who faked his own death, vanished overseas, and left his family. and community believing he was gone. forever. Well, now he's finally faced a. judge. We are going to break down. everything that happened inside that. courtroom. Welcome to Sideball presented.

by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Well, it is the twist ending to a story. that's gripped Wisconsin for more than a. year and it is a case that we have. covered quite extensively here on. Sidebar. Pretty much every step of this. bizarre investigation. If you've been. following us for a bit, you will. definitely remember this one. Okay. Wisconsin father Ryan Borgwart, who. apparently faked his own death, just. took off for overseas, and left his.

family and community believing he was. dead. He has now finally learned his. fate in court. And during that official. sentencing, the prosecutor didn't hold. back. We now know that in the late. evening of August 11th of 2024, the. defendant arrived in Green Lake, Wisconsin, and put in motion the final. steps to his plan of faking his death so. that he could disappear from his. everyday life of being a husband and. father in Wisconsin and realized his. selfish and self-centered plan to travel.

overseas to be with a woman that he met. online. >> And when it was Borg wart's turn to. speak, he did. Now, we'll get to that. We'll get to that emotional moment. We'll get to the part where the judge. makes the final decision, and that is. interesting to say the least. But first, let's rewind to the beginning. Back on. August 11th, 2024, 45-year-old Ryan. Borgwart set out in Wisconsin's Green. Lake in his kayak, telling his family. that he was just, you know, going out on. a routine fishing trip. Problem was,

hours later, deputies find his kayak. overturned along with his fishing rod, his tackle box, his driver's license, even his phone. So obviously the natural. conclusion was it looked like he. drowned. And for nearly two months, law. enforcement, dive teams, the local. community, they searched tirelessly. hoping to recover his body. For 58 days, the Green Lake County Sheriff's. Department with the support and. assistance from community members, Bruce's Legacy, the Wisconsin Department.

of Natural Resources, cadaavver dogs, deep divers, fishermen, local. businesses, regional and national lab. law enforcement partners searched for. the defendant. The defendant's family. was left to believe that he was missing. or worse dead. >> But as it turns out, Borg wart wasn't in. Green Lake at all. He was already out of. the country. Investigators got their. first big break when they learned that. his passport had been scanned at the. Canadian border. And then when they dug.

into a laptop that his wife had handed. over, the truth of his escape plan began. to unfold. >> We made contacts. a digital digital forensic analyst. of a laptop that we were given. through the wife. searching that. the disappearance that we have found. that he was in some place in Europe.

Through that. forensic analyst, we recovered. that he replaced his hard drive on the. laptop. He cleared the browser on the day of his. disappearance. He sank the laptop into the cloud on. August 11th. He took photos of his passport.

We found out that he moved funds to a. foreign bank, changing his email. and communication with a woman and used. Beckistan. He took out a $375,000. life insurance policy in January. and he purchased airline cards.

Due to these discoveries of the new. evidence, we were sure. that Ryan was not in our lake. So. authorities eventually tracked down this. Russian-speaking woman that Borg ward. had been in contact with and through her. they were able to reach out to him. directly through email. And soon after. investigators got what they had been. waiting for, a proof of life video from.

Borgart himself. >> Good evening. It's Ryan today. Hello and. today is November 11th. It's. approximately 10 a.m. US. talking lawsuits here. You know who, by. the way, are experts in litigation? Our. sponsor Morgan and Morgan. This is. America's largest injury law firm. This.

is a firm with over a thousand. attorneys. You know why they have so. many? Because they win a lot. Listen to. this. They have recovered over $25. billion for more than 500,000 clients. Think about that. In the past few. months, a client in Florida received $12. million after the insurance company. offered just $350,000. Out in Pennsylvania, a client was. awarded $26 million. That is 40 times. the insured $650,000 offer. Another. client in Pennsylvania received $29. million after being offered only. $500,000. And even if you think your.

case isn't worth millions of dollars, why not start a claim and fight for what. you deserve? Morgan and Morgan makes it. so simple. You can start a claim from. your phone in just eight clicks. So if. you're injured, you can easily start a. claim at forthepeople.com/lcsidebar. by clicking the link below or scanning. the QR code on screen. And then later on, he admits how he. pulled off this whole elaborate scheme. He stashed an ebike near the boat.

launch. He paddled his kayak in a childsiz. floating boat. out into the lake. He overturned the. kayak and dumped his phone in the lake. He paddled the inflatable boat to shore. and got on got on his ebike and rode. through the night to Madison. in. Madison. He boarded a bus and went to. Detroit and then the Canadian border.

He continued on the bus to an airport. and got on a plane. We are continuing to verify this. information uh trying to put the dots. together, but we feel that uh. uh this was Ryan's way that he could. tell. u the entire country how he did it. So. according to a criminal complaint after.

slipping across the Canadian border, Borg wart then boarded a plane to Paris. and from there he eventually flew to the. country of Georgia and that is where he. seemed to have started a new life. staying in a hotel with the help of a. woman that he had met online renting an. apartment which by the way turns out to. be the same apartment where he recorded. that proof of life video. And after. weeks of back and forth communication, investigators were able to persuade him. to come home. In fact, Sheriff Mark. Podell later said that Borgwart's.

decision to return had to do with him. wanting to make amends. And when he. finally faced a judge in Wisconsin in. December, he entered a plea of not. guilty to the misdemeanor charge of. obstructing an officer. But his first. court appearance also just showed how. unusual this case was. Because despite. all the money that he apparently stashed. away in his plan to disappear, he told. the court he couldn't afford a lawyer. >> Sir, you do have the right to an. attorney. You can hire your own. If you. can't afford one, contact the public.

defender's office. If you do not qualify. for a public defender, you can ask this. court to appoint one for you. Do you. understand those options? >> I do. I called this morning that I have. to pay. So, I can't pay for that money. So, I'll defend myself. Well, you do have the right to an. attorney. You can ask this court to. appoint one for you, but you can have an. attorney. You always have the right to. an attorney. >> And all of that led up to this week when. Ryan Borgwart stood before a judge for.

sentencing on August 26th. After months. of denials and delays, he had changed. his plea to no contest. In court, prosecutors, they laid out just how far. he went to fake his own death and. abandon his family. We now know that in. the late evening of August 11th of 2024, the defendant arrived in Green Lake, Wisconsin, and put in motion the final. steps to his plan of faking his death so. that he could disappear from his. everyday life of being a husband and.

father in Wisconsin and realized his. selfish and self-centered plan to travel. overseas to be with a woman that he met. online. Months earlier, defendant began. the extensive planning to execute this. perfect plan to disappear from his. normal life. He took out a sizable life. insurance policy. Defendant transferred. money overseas. He regularly. communicated with the woman, professing. his love and desire to create a new life. with her. He reversed his vasectomy. He.

applied for a p replacement passport, claiming that his original one, which. his wife found in the family safe in its. normal place, was lost or stolen. He. researched and studied how to. successfully disappear. He looked into. how to fake a drowning and chose our. beautiful lake, Green Lake, which his. research revealed would make his roots. more believable. He believed that Green. Lake's great depth would mean that a. body would not surface. According to the.

defendant, 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. His words, "What. defendant didn't count on was the great. concern and dedication of the Green Lake. County community and the dogged resolve. of our law enforcement." Prosecutors. argued that while Borward thought he had. planned the perfect escape,

investigators in the Green Lake. community, they never stopped searching. >> For 58 days, the Green Lake County. Sheriff's Department with the support. and assistance from community members, Bruce's Legacy, the Wisconsin Department. of Natural Resources, cadaavver dogs, deep divers, fishermen, local. businesses, regional and national law. enforcement partners searched for the. defendant. The defendant's family was. left to believe that he was missing or. worse dead. Meanwhile, law enforcement.

was determined to help his family find. closure and left no stone unturned, looking into any and all resources in an. attempt to determine his fate. Through. the use of national and international. law enforcement tools, 58 days after the. defendant faked his death, this. investigation pivoted. Law enforcement. discovered that on August 13th of 2024, the defendant was encountered in Canada. Law enforcement would continue to dig. and find that the defendant flew from. Canada into Europe, where he then went.

to the country of Georgia. Once there, he began to create a life with the woman. he met on the internet, getting a job in. an apartment. The defendant continued to. covertly monitor the news to ensure that. he was successful in faking his death. He took extra precautions while overseas. so as to not leave a digital footprint. that could lead to his discovery. >> In November, investigators made direct. contact and that is when Borg wart. finally admitted the elaborate steps he.

had taken to vanish. >> Beginning on November 8th, 2025, 89 days. after the defendant faked his death, the. Green Lakes Sheriff's Office began a. monthslong electronic communication with. the defendant. Chief Deputy Matt Bandiculk talked with. him by electronic communication. The. defendant admitted to his rooms. He. admitted to the work he did. Purchasing. an ebike, abandoning his vehicle, ditching the kayak on the lake along. with his tackle box that had his.

driver's license in it and his fishing. rod, stashing that ebike and an extra. battery along with clothes and money. riding through the night to Madison to. the Madison area where he dumped that. ebike in a park and later boarded a. Greyhound bus which took him to Canada, flying then overseas to accomplish his. goal. The sheriff's department commun. continued to communicate with the. defendant for approximately one month, convincing him to return to Wisconsin to. account for an answer to his actions. So.

the state asked the judge to hold Ryan. Borwart accountable, not just for the. deception, but also for the tens of. thousands of dollars wasted in this. massive search effort. >> Wisconsin State statute 973.06 06 in FN. 1 and PN AV allows this court to impose. the reasonable cost expended by a state. or local law enforcement agency or. emergency response agency to respond to. or investigate the false information the. defendant provided or the physical.

evidence that the defendant placed. Costs allowed under this paragraph may. include personnel costs and costs. associated with the use of police or. emergency response vehicles. The total amount of recoverable costs in. this case uh pursuant to that statute. were calculated at 51,1275. The state calculated this amount this. amount only for the time period. beginning August 11th, 2024.

when the defendant faked his death on. our lake up until that 58th day when. that investigation pivoted when we. discovered that he had been encountered. in Canada and then shifted that. investigation. That was the term of the. instruction. The total amount. recoverable for the two departments that. most actively were involved in the. investigation were the Green Lake County. Sheriff's Office in the amount of. $35,522.73. and the Wisconsin Department of Natural. Resources, $15,64.32.

This is the total amount uh recoverable. by the statute but certainly not the. total costs of all the work done by. community and federal partners. The parties have agreed upon the. thoughtless the resolution that the. court is aware of based upon the factors. that the court must take into. consideration at sentencing. The. defendant uh prior to today's date was. to pay the $30,000 that we negotiated. That would be that will be split between.

the sheriff's department and the DNR to. cover their costs for the uh. investigation into the obstructing that. was done uh last week. This defendant's egregious obstruction. along with the party's joint. recommendation for 45 days in jail, court cost, and the DNA sample is the. recommendation that I stand behind and. I'm asking the court to follow. Prior to. today's date, your honor, the defendant. had no prior criminal convictions. He. now has a conviction for a crime of. dishonesty.

Certainly any criminal charge, conviction, and sentence that this court. today hands down will not be able to. come close to undoing the incredible. damage that this defendant by his. premeditated selfish actions has done. not only to his family, but our. community. The destruction of his family. can never be undone. For months, this. defendant executed a series of plans. that led to his children, his wife, his. family, our dedicated officers, our. community, our partners to believe he.

was dead. And while a misdemeanor. conviction along with 45 days in jail. and payment of a portion of the costs. expended by our law enforcement to. discover his devastating act cannot. begin to fix the damage he has done, it. tells our community that we will hold. individuals accountable and may also act. as a deterrent to future destructive. plans such as this. those that may wish. to disappear. on our are on notice that our community.

will not give up after a few days. We. will continue to dig and if we find that. a crime has occurred, we will work to. hold you accountable. Your honor, I ask. that the court follow the joint. recommendations of the parties, uh, accept the $30,000 payment of costs. pursuant to the statute, sentence the. defendant to 45 days in the, uh, Greenland County Jail along with the. Hubert privileges, impose court costs, and uh, accept the DNA sample.

>> Now, the defense countered. They said, "Okay, listen. Borg wart, he's got no. criminal history. He returned. voluntarily. He was working to make. amends. This is obviously a very unique. case. Um, my client deeply regrets his. decisions that he made initially. However, I think he's made some some. really good and positive decisions um. after those events. All of this the. decisions boil down to one thing and.

that is that he is here taking. responsibility for his actions. When he first retained me, obviously I. had to look at everything and advise him. of the options he had moving forward. Those options were to take a litigation. path or to see if there was some way. that we could amicably resolve this. Option one obviously from a legal. standpoint was was quite interesting due. to the facts circumstances surrounding. this case and whether or not a jury. would believe that the conduct that he.

engaged in warranted criminal. conviction. Um but he did not want to go. down that path and as we see here with. the media attention he did not want to. um turn our community into that. He. wanted to accept responsibility. for his actions. He came back from Europe to take.

responsibility for his actions and I I. for his actions and I think that that's. worth noting as well because this was a. non-extraditable misdemeanor. If he. didn't want to come back, he didn't need. to come back. He did and he wanted to to. make amends and that's why he returned. As the state has pointed out and as the. court is aware, he's repaid a. significant amount of of money for the. costs associated with this uh per. statute. He's 45 years old. Uh he has no prior.

criminal convictions. He's gainfully. employed. I I think briefly looking at. the gallion factors, this makes sense as. to the gravity of the offense. It's a. simple misdemeanor. Ultimately, Ryan cooperated. He turned. himself in. uh character and. rehabilitative needs. Other than this. isolated incident, uh there's nothing to. indicate any prior criminal history. There's nothing to indicate that any. department of corrections. needs to be involved in in any way,

shape, or form. He's working. He's. taking care of his obligations to his. family. He's continuing his education. And finally, the need to protect the. public as the state has discussed. Um I. don't think that he's a danger to the. community. I think perhaps what he did. warrants some punishment and is why we. are agreeing that the 45day jail term is. appropriate. So I think based upon all. of those factors uh this is an. appropriate recommendation and I'd ask.

the court to follow it. >> And when it was time for Ryan Borgwart. to address the court he kept it brief. and I deeply regret the actions that I. did that night and all the pain that I. caused my family and friends. >> Then finally, Judge Mark Slate handed. down his punishment. >> The defendant is facing a sentence on. the crime of obstructing an officer. This is typically for someone who gives. a false name or misleads an officer. It. is not a serious crime, but it is a.

drain on police resources. In this case, the defendant led law enforcement to. expend time and resources to search for. him. That made more difficult the. performance of their duties. Now, the defendant has said he didn't. think law enforcement would search for. him as long as they did. But the point. is the defendant's actions faking his. death required the sheriff's department. to expend resources to search for him. and that obstructed law enforcement. The second factor the court looks at is. the protection of the public. Court.

doesn't believe this is a factor in this. case. The third factor the court looks at is. rehabilitation. The defendant has no criminal history. and has already paid the county $30,000. towards the cost expended in the search. for the defendant. He is here accepting. responsibility. This leads the court to. believe rehabilitation is not an issue. in this case. The court recognizes the parties have. come to an agreement on 45 days in the. county jail. However, the court notes.

there were 89 days from the date the. defendant was declared missing on August. 12th until the email from the sheriff's. department to the defendant on November. 8th. It was during these 89 days that. the defendant faked his death. And then. when he realized law enforcement knew he. had not drowned by his own admission, he. wanted to add as many layers as possible. so he could not be found or tracked by. law enforcement. He obstructed law. enforcement for a total of 89 days. He.

could have come forward before that. time, but he decided not to. A factor. the court can consider for sentencing is. deterrence for the defendant and anyone. else who is thinking about faking their. death. If you persist in your deception, the longer you obstruct, the longer you. are duplicit, instead of coming forward. and admitting your mistake, the longer. the penalty should be. court determines that the appropriate. time for the defendant to spend in the. county jail is the length of time he.

allowed his deception to continue. Therefore, the court sentences the. defendant to 89 days in the county jail. >> So, after vanishing for 89 days, Ryan. Borgwart will now spend 89 days behind. bars. It's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll. speak to you next time.

[Music].