Akiva Daniel Abraham, 44, is coming under some serious heat after being accused of arson and insurance fraud tied to a run-down rock nightclub in Albany, New York.
The former doctor really burned down the house this past spring, when investigators say he used torch fuel to set fire to the vacant building that he owned. The building, once a rock club called Saratoga Winners, was given to Abraham for free by a couple who had faced foreclosure.
The investigation was sparked after Abraham filed a "Property Loss Notice" in order to obtain insurance proceeds in excess of $380,000. The huge sum quickly ignited interest in the case, and authorities simply followed the trail of smoke to the real source of the fire.
Cameras at an area Home Depot really set the prosecutor's case ablaze, as security tapes showed Abraham purchasing four gallons of lantern fuel just a few days prior to the fiery fiasco. Authorities found those same gallon jugs empty on Abraham's property during a search.
This wasn't the first time the defendant has been in the hot seat. The former gynecologist, who once operated an office in New York, had his medical license revoked in August 2005 for immoral conduct, practicing fraudulently, and filing false reports. He's gotten himself burned again with charges of arson, insurance fraud, and reckless endangerment. If convicted, he'll roast for five to fifteen years in prison.
