Ulster County Court ordered Anthony Waiters, a 23-year-old Kingston, New York man to serve five years' probation for his part in igniting the blaze. He will also pay a $630 fine and complete ten days of community service. He pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and attempted arson in February.

The two other defendants in the case await sentencing: Mark Winkler, 36, the owner of the vehicle, and Anthony Latty, 44. Winkler earlier pleaded guilty to insurance fraud. Latty, who faces the most serious charges also pleaded guilty to insurance fraud and attempted arson. Both had not yet been sentenced at the time of this publication.

Winkler admitted in court that financial problems led him to offer Latty $1,000 to get rid of Winkler's 2007 GMC Sierra pickup truck. Latty said he recruited Waiters to help him. The two drove the pickup to a rural area where they then poured gasoline into the vehicle and set it on fire.

The next day, firefighters and police discovered the burned vehicle. At about the same, Winkler contacted the sheriff's department and State Farm Insurance Company to report that the pickup had been stolen. Winkler subsequently submitted an insurance claim for the loss. However, State Farm wasn't fooled. Instead of paying the suspicious claim, the insurer contacted authorities, prompting an investigation by the New York State Insurance Department's Frauds Bureau, the Ulster County Urgent Task Force, Ulster police and Dutchess County sheriffs. The three men were later arrested.

Prosecuting the case were Ulster County District Attorney D. Holley Carnright and William Andrews of the Insurance Department's Frauds Bureau, who served as a special assistant district attorney under the department's special prosecutor program. The Department lends experienced insurance frauds prosecutors to local counties to help investigate and prosecute insurance-related crimes under the program.

Interested in more fraud news and in-depth articles? Head over to Claims' investigative channel for more information.

Special Reports /

Fraud of the Week: Trio Burned for Arson Scam

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