Back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin is facing a lengthy prison sentence after admitting a string of fraud charges of about €325,000.
Mr Darwin pleaded guilty to seven charges of deception and one charge of making false statements to procure a passport.
He denied nine counts of converting criminal property when he appeared before Leeds Crown Court.
His wife Anne Darwin denied six counts of deception and nine charges of converting criminal property and will stand trial later this year.
Peter Makepeace, representing Mr Darwin, asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
'Mr Darwin has been in custody. It has been an extremely difficult time for him. There have been self-harming issues,' he said.
'He accepts entirely that a lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable,' he added.
The judge agreed for the report to be prepared but said Mr Darwin will be held in custody until the conclusion of his wife's trial.
Mr Darwin disappeared after taking his canoe into the sea opposite his home in March 2002.
A huge air-sea search failed to find any trace of his body and he was pronounced dead by police and a coroner the following year.
It has since been alleged that the former teacher was living next door to his wife for much of the time he was thought to have been dead.
The mystery of his disappearance started to unravel when Mr Darwin walked into a London police station on December 1 last year and said 'I think I'm a missing person.'
Days later, a photograph of Mr Darwin and his wife emerged, which appeared to show them in Panama with a property agent in 2006.
