Fraud of the Week

March 06, 2017

Arson —South Carolina

Amount: up to $700,000

 

A man in Sumter County was arrested in connection with an arson in July, 2016. The defendant was charged with second degree arson for burning his personal property in order to defraud an insurer, and making a false insurance claim. The fire occurred at the end of July and destroyed the family run business. The sheriff's office and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division conducted a joint investigation of the fire, and found evidence placing the accused at the scene of the fire within minutes of the 911 call reporting the fire. Although his losses only added up to $450,000, he collected around $700,000 in fraudulent insurance claims after the incident.

There seems to be a recent increase in arson reports and arrests. This crime is particularly egregious, as an intentionally set fire cannot be contained, and could potentially injure neighbors, emergency response teams, and onlookers, and can cause an unexpected amount of property damage. For these reasons, arson can be fruitful as fraud, but is also more dangerous than most other types of fraudulent activity. Therefore, punishment for arson fraud should be as detrimental to the arsonist as it could be to the community.