QuoteSaddled With Debt, Some Decide to Torch Vehicles
By Dan Morse and Matt Zapotosky
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, October 13, 2008; Page A01
Burdened by debt and driving home from a night of gambling in West Virginia, Sergio Lopez launched a scheme that at the time must have seemed like a good idea.
He pulled his Volkswagen Jetta up to a random corner in Silver Spring, doused the interior with gasoline, set it on fire and walked away. He later made a claim to Nationwide Insurance. The car was missing, he said -- someone must have stolen it.
Add Lopez, who pleaded guilty in the case this year, to the band of Washington area residents who have torched their cars hoping for a quick insurance check. A Baltimore police officer did it. So did a Baltimore firefighter. A Prince William County resident burned a minivan for a friend.
Investigators estimate that hundreds of such crimes occurred in the Washington area in the past two years, although the exact number is unclear, and experts predict the number will increase because of the worsening economy. Many offenders have fallen behind on payments to car dealerships. This year, more people are behind on such loans than in nearly two decades.
Remainder of story is here...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/12/AR2008101202255.html
Selling your car would work also.
Quote from: Lunican on October 14, 2008, 11:47:40 AM
Selling your car would work also.
lol... no kidding. i guess these people are "upside down" on their cars too. and i would bet the dreaded gas-guzzling SUVs are a major portion of the arson "victims".
Pouring gasoline all over your car and lighting it on fire is the probably the most likely way to get caught committing insurance fraud.
Why not just buckle up, aim for a tree, and pray you airbags work?
Quote from: Jason on October 14, 2008, 12:28:25 PM
Why not just buckle up, aim for a tree, and pray you airbags work?
"Self-preservation" is a one compound word answer. I had thought the same thing - but I guess it is much safer to throw a match and run than to do what you suggested.
I used to work with someone who claims they did this right here in town, although it was about 6 years ago. They paid someone with military/explosive knowlege to "steal" the car from their driveway and it magically turned up several days later as a burnt shell of a car on the far northside. The insurance company suspected something and investigated but it couldn't be proven. I believe it was a lease they couldn't get out of.
I tried not to hang out with them too much after that :D
But hey, gas prices are dropping like a rock so maybe that'll curb the torching!
Quote from: Driven1 on October 14, 2008, 12:32:56 PM
Quote from: Jason on October 14, 2008, 12:28:25 PM
Why not just buckle up, aim for a tree, and pray you airbags work?
"Self-preservation" is a one compound word answer. I had thought the same thing - but I guess it is much safer to throw a match and run than to do what you suggested.
But not nearly as much fun. ;)