Texas woman heading to prison for burning down house for insurance money
Genevieve Thompson has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to arson and insurance fraud.
This story is reprinted with permission from FC&S Legal, the industry’s only comprehensive digital resource designed for insurance coverage law professionals. Visit the website to subscribe.
A Dallas woman with a history of filing 31 insurance claims against a dozen companies got burned when one turned out to be arson.
30 years in prison
Genevieve Thompson has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after Dallas Judge Tracy Holmes found that Thompson had intentionally set her house on fire to collect insurance money. Thompson previously pleaded guilty to arson and insurance fraud.
On June 12, 2017, the Dallas fire department was called to a house fire on Rock Bluff Drive. An investigation found that the fire had been started on purpose. The Texas Department of Insurance’s fraud unit assisted the Dallas fire department on the case.
15 claims in 18 months before fire
The investigation revealed that Thompson had filed at least 15 insurance claims on her home in the 18 months before the fire.
Stephanie Martin, the lead prosecutor for the Dallas County district attorney’s office was assisted by the chief prosecutor of the Texas Department of Insurance, Kyson Johnson.
Dallas County is one of five district attorney’s offices around the state that work with the Texas Department of Insurance by embedding prosecutors and investigators to fight insurance fraud.
Steven A. Meyerowitz, Esq., (smeyerowitz@meyerowitzcommunications.com) is the director of FC&S Legal, the editor-in-chief of the Insurance Coverage Law Report, and the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc.
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