This month, insurers say, they are meeting with California investigators to discuss potential fraud during last fall's wildfires, including the prospect that some of the 2,000 burned homes were cases of opportune arson by owners looking to escape from their mortgages. State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said his agency was investigating a number of such cases but would not provide further details.
One recent fire of note was set in September in Gaines Township, Mich., by Sheryl Christman, who hoped to use the insurance money to get out of a troubled marriage, not to mention a house that was four days from foreclosure.
The 38-year-old mother ignited a mattress in the garage of her two-bedroom home, for which she had paid $150,000 in 2006, then sat outside as the house burned. She was arrested, convicted and sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service and five years of probation. In interviews afterward, Christman called her actions "rash and stupid" and said she was "very ashamed." The heavily damaged house eventually sold for $40,000.
