MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man pleaded guilty Tuesday to filing fraudulent insurance claims for an arson attack that he tried to portray as a politically motivated attack.
Federal officials said Denis Molla, 30, of the Brooklyn Center falsely reported to law enforcement in September 2020 that someone had set his trailer on fire and that three unknown men were near his home when he heard an explosion.
Molla told officials his garage door was vandalized with a spray-painted Antifa symbol and words reading “Biden 2020” and “BLM.” She claimed that her mobile home was targeted because she had a Trump 2020 flag on it.
Police discovered that Molla started a fire on his property and spray-painted the graffiti in his own garage. He filed multiple insurance claims seeking coverage for damage to his garage, trailer, vehicles and residence caused by the fire, court documents show.
Molla also created and allowed others to start two GoFundMe accounts to benefit Molla and her family. In all, Molla filed more than $300,000 in fraudulent insurance claims, of which she received approximately $61,000 from her insurance company. Molla also received more than $17,000 from individual donors through GoFundMe.
Molla pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
