FRAUD OF THE WEEK January 28, 2019 ARSON— WISCONSIN AMOUNT: MORE THAN 800K

A house fire in 2013 sparked suspicion when it gutted an $800,000 home in Milwaukee in June. A couple who had separated was living in the house, but the home was empty at the time of the fire. The man was accused of intentionally starting the house fire to collect fraudulent insurance money. He was imprisoned for burning down his home is also implicated in two other arsons, the burning of two restaurants he was affiliated with. He has been forced to pay his insurer over $550,000 in restitution for the home arson. His wife, from whom he was separated at the time of the fire, sought to collect the insurance proceeds after the fire, because she was the sole owner of the home, the sole named insured on the policy, and innocent in the arson case. She argued that her former husband's actions could not affect the legitimacy of her claim for the proceeds. The attorneys for the insurer said that the insurer could reject the claim under the “concealment and fraud” section of the insurance contract. The court granted the insurer's motion for summary judgment. The man was sentenced to 6 years in prison for the crime along with the restitution he was forced to pay. The property the home sat on was valued at $818,000 at the time of the arson.