Copyright held by The John Cooke Fraud Report. Reprint rights are granted with attribution to The John Cooke Fraud Report with a link to this website.
If brains were measured in breast size, this lady needed help. In fact, that’s why 23-yearold Amanda Perkins says she dumped gasoline through the sunroof of her car, stuffed a Burger King wrapper in the gas tank, lit it and hightailed it back to her apartment. She wanted the money for breast augmentation! She and the “two girls” were taken to jail and now face charges in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Why did Morgan McGinn set fifteen fires? He wanted attention. He also wanted to see himself on television. He targeted schools, churches, a library, an apartment complex, abandoned buildings, and an occupied home. McGinn, a smoker who always carried a lighter and is described as “small and different,” attended a special needs high school for the emotionally disabled. When he did not take his medication, he went into what he said was a “dream state” and, en toto, caused $750,000 in damages in Carmichael, California. Next stop? State prison to serve a four-year sentence
Elbert Luis mesa Diaz of Lehigh Acres, Florida, filed a $200,000 claim with his insurer after intentionally torching his residence. The only thing he gained was a 26-month prison term, followed by six additional years of prison as a result of an insurance fraud and an arson conviction.
The day before a fire destroyed a Hillman, Minnesota, home, owner
Randy Donald Reed phoned his insurance agent to confirm there was $190,000 of insurance coverage on the house. Twenty-four hours later, the home was torched with the help of a butane torch and four puddles of gasoline. Reed was seen at the house just prior to the fire. The butane torch was still on when firefighters kicked in the doors to extinguish the blaze. Reed and co-owner Brenda Smith were facing foreclosure of their $127,000 loan. All residents of the house were said (by Reed) to be meth users, and Reed had congestive heart failure and was not expected to live long. Long enough for his first degree arson conviction? We shall see.
Ex-Wall Street broker Michael Marin, minutes after hearing the word “guilty” from a jury foreman, reacted to the arson conviction by putting his hand up to his mouth. A short time after that gesture, he went into convulsions and died before reaching a hospital. Cause of death? Self-ingested cyanide poisoning. Reason for such a drastic end? The possibility of a 16-year sentence resulting from a desperate attempt to get out from under his $17,250 monthly payment on his $3.5 million dollar Phoenix, Arizona, mansion and collect $650,000 from an insurance policy. Firefighters had found flammable materials in the house and Marin in scuba gear after he climbed out a second-story window. Plenty of questions, not enough answers.
A Nashville, Tennessee, landlord and tenant have both been indicted by a Davidson County grand jury as a result of what appears to be a rather unsavory house rental deal. All the tenant had to do to pay up the first five months of rent and earn a thousand dollar bonus … was to set fire to certain properties owned by his landlord. Easy cheesy, right Sneezy? Corey Gaines, a gentleman with a very colorful rap sheet, was the match guy. and Scott Williams was the make-insurance claims guy. Both are facing charges and potential prison sentences.
Dumbest Arsonist Award goes to the guy in Taylor, Michigan, who was driving his Dodge Durango on Telegraph Road. Initially, it appeared that there was a dashboard electronics or engine compartment fire that caused the man to jump out of the vehicle just before it hit a cement pillar. Later, however, the driver, who suffered minor burns and injuries in the mishap, confessed to having poured gasoline on the floor mats and igniting them while he was driving. He was surprised when the vapors ignited — and jumped. If/when criminal charges are filed for the intended insurance fraud, he can face a sentence of 10 years for making a false report to an insurance company and 20 years for arson. Surely not the brightest bulb in the “arson”al of insurance fraud stories.