Fraud of the Week

May 13, 2019

Arson — Georgia

Amount: $400,000

A Georgia fraudster is facing up to 70 years in prison and up to $400,000 in fines for setting his upholstery business on fire in order to collect the insurance money. One of the firefighters who responded to the 911 call was injured in the blaze and taken to the hospital. The building was eventually deemed to be a total loss. An employee of the upholstery business pleaded guilty to arson in 2018 after being arrested in the investigation. Despite claiming to be out of town at the time of the fire, the fraudster has been convicted of three counts of arson and one count of insurance fraud for his involvement in the scheme. He will be sentenced in the near future.