Arrests in Costa deaths scam

Three Hungarians have been arrested for allegedly faking the deaths of family members after the Costa Concordia tragedy.

Lawyer Peter Ronai told ABC News that he suspected a con when a woman who claimed her daughter and five-year-old granddaughter were missing after the vessel capsized off Italy asked how much money she would receive.

"In 20 years of doing this stuff, I've seen a lot of deaths and a lot of tragedies, but I've never met one family after losing a loved one that says, 'How much?'" Ronai said.

"They always want to know, 'What happened? How did it happen?' These people wanted to know, 'How much?'"

The woman, whose name was not reported, said she didn't know why her daughter, Eva Fiedlerne Puspoki, was on the ship, but sought help from Ronai.

Ronai said the story was corroborated by Puspoki's boyfriend, whose name also was not reported, but the boyfriend later said the five-year-old was never missing.

"The story started changing and changing, more and more," Ronai said.

Police, along with Ronai, questioned the five-year-old, who said she last saw her mother earlier that day. Puspoki later arrived, saying she was on the ship and was injured when she jumped off the boat.

Ronai added: "People will do horrible things for money. When you think about it, I had contacts at the embassy spending money looking for these people when they could have been looking for others."

The lawyer has estimated he spent $10,000 on plane fare, expenses and a private investigator.

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