Wisconsin Bar Owner Found Guilty of Arson, Insurance Fraud

A bar owner in Waukesha, Wisconsin, has been found guilty of intentionally setting fire to his business, as well as several felony offenses related to the arson.

According to U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Krueger with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, , a jury found Brian Whitton, guilty of arson of a commercial business, mail fraud, use of fire to commit another felony offense, and making a false statement to federal law enforcement agent.

After a four-day trial, Whitton was found guilty of intentionally setting fire to his business, a bar called “The Stage Off Main,” on March 25, 2017. The bar was located at 854 Martin Street in Waukesha.

At the time of the fire, the building housed both Whitton’s bar and an occupied rental unit.

Whitton was convicted of submitting a fraudulent, sworn proof of loss claim to his insurance carrier, United States Liability Insurance Company LLC, in which he falsely claimed that the fire was the result of an accident. The jury also found Whitton guilty of lying to an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) during the course of the investigation.

Whitton is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2020. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment for the arson conviction, to be followed by a consecutive, mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment for the use of fire to commit another felony conviction.

The maximum penalty for the mail fraud conviction is 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release. Whitton also faces up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release for the false statement conviction.

The prosecution of Whitton was the direct result of an investigation by ATF, the Waukesha Police Department and the Waukesha Fire Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly B. Watzka and Timothy W. Funnell.

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office

Topics USA Fraud Wisconsin