Three Arrested in California Farmhouse Arson and $200K Insurance Fraud Scheme

In February 2024, a rural Northern California farmhouse was deliberately set on fire, causing extensive damage. Investigators later learned that the property had been purchased a year earlier through a federal mortgage program. Shortly after acquisition, half ownership was transferred to two associates who serve in local public offices—a vice mayor and a school board trustee.

Prosecutors allege the original buyer secured a homeowner’s policy on the farmhouse about three months before the blaze, submitting false information on the application. Following the fire, both he and the vice mayor submitted additional misleading claims to their insurer. Within weeks, the trio sold the charred property and received roughly $200,000 in insurance proceeds.

Further inquiry revealed the suspects hired a local contracting firm to perform renovations under the pretense of repair work. That firm is accused of purchasing building materials with checks drawn on a non-existent bank account, amassing thousands of dollars in fraudulent expenses.

On June 19, 2025, coordinated warrants were executed across multiple counties. Each of the three suspects was arrested on a $1 million bond warrant: the original purchaser faces charges including arson, destruction of insured property, false claim presentation, perjury and wire fraud; the vice mayor faces arson, supporting a false claim, perjury, fraud and conspiracy; and the school board trustee faces arson and conspiracy to destroy insured property. Meanwhile, the contractor remains a fugitive on multiple counts of check fraud.