South Carolina Man Admits to Burning His Car, Filing False Insurance Claim, DOI Says

South Carolina authorities have charged a man with insurance fraud after he reported his vehicle was stolen, then admitted to setting it on fire.

Rusty Dale Peeples, 46, was arrested Feb. 24, charged with making a false insurance claim and burning personal property to defraud an insurer, the South Carolina Department of Insurance said Tuesday. Each charge could bring a maximum of five years in prison.

The alleged fraud began in 2020, when Peeples, of Omar, South Carolina, reported to the local sheriff that his Nissan Rogue SUV had been stolen, according to local news reports. The car was later found, engulfed in flames. Peeples then filed a claim with his insurance company.

In interviews with investigators from South Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance, Peeples admitted to setting the vehicle ablaze and falsely claiming it was stolen.

“We are optimistic that by increasing efforts to identify and prosecute cases of insurance fraud, would-be-criminals will think twice before committing fraud, knowing it is very likely that they will be caught and prosecuted,” Joshua Underwood, director of the DOI’s fraud division, said in a statement.

Photo: Stock image of a car fire.