MINNEAPOLIS — A Brooklyn Center man has been indicted after he allegedly filed a false claim for an arson he reported to be politically motivated.
According to the Minnesota Department of Justice, Denis Molla is charged with two counts of wire fraud after he told law enforcement that someone had lit his camper on fire because it had a Trump 2020 flag displayed.
In 2021, Molla told KARE 11 he saw three "figures" in the yard the night of the fire, claiming one of them had dropped a matchbox while he was chasing them. When he returned home, Molla said, the camper was on fire and the flames had spread to two extended cab pickup trucks parked next to the camper.
Molla went on to say the fire spread from the trucks to a detached garage, where he claims to have rescued four sleeping puppies.
Investigators later determined that Molla started the fire and spray-painted graffiti on his garage that said "Biden 2020," "BLM," and a symbol believed to be connected to Antifa, the Department of Justice said.
According to officials, Molla submitted more than $300,000 in fraudulent insurance claims and received about $61,000 from the insurance company, on top of the $17,000 he got from donors through GoFundMe.
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