Owners of New Jersey Diner Who Burned it Down for Insurance Avoid Prison
The owners of a New Jersey diner who burned it down to collect insurance money have been spared prison terms.
Forty-nine-year-old Tina Diakos and 40-year-old Ozkan Cengiz were both sentenced to five years of probation on Friday. They had each pleaded guilty to arson charges in March.
Sussex County prosecutors say the pair decided to burn down the Jerzeez Diner in Vernon because it wasn’t doing well and they were also facing the cost of replacing its septic system. So they drove from their home in Butler and set the diner on fire in March 2016.
No one was injured in the fire.
Besides their probation sentences, Diakos and Cengiz were also ordered to pay $323,000 overall in restitution and perform community service.
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