Man pleads guilty to fraud after lighting his camper on fire, defacing own garage to appear targeted due to Trump flag
MINNEAPOLIS – A Brooklyn Center man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal wild fraud charge after he lit his own camper on fire to make it look like a politically-motivated crime, and then allegedly filed several fraudulent insurance claims.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Denis Vladmirovich Molla, 29, pleaded guilty to a count of wire fraud in connection with the fire that took place on September 23, 2020.
Molla reported to police that someone set fire to his camper "because it had a Trump 2020 flag displayed on it," and spray painted the Antifa or anarchy symbol, "BLM" and "Biden 2020" on his garage door. The U.S. Attorney's Office says Molla actually lit the fire and defaced the garage himself.
Court documents show that Molla then "submitted multiple insurance claims seeking coverage for the damage to his garage, camper, vehicles, and residence caused by the fire."
Molla submitted insurance claims totaling more than $300,000, receiving only $61,000 in the process. He then accused his insurance company of "defrauding him." Court documents show he also yielded more than $17,000 from two GoFundMe accounts.
Molla's sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
