A US woman, along with several of her relatives and their associates, has been charged in an elaborate insurance fraud scheme that allegedly involved setting fire to more than a dozen homes across Louisiana.
Lashaundalyn Whitlock Brown, 41, was charged with federal counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and arson conspiracy, the US Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Louisiana announced this week.
Between 2019 and 2026, prosecutors allege Whitlock Brown, along with her co-conspirators, intentionally set fire to 13 homes in the Monroe and West Monroe areas with the aim of collecting insurance benefits and taking advantage of charity funds for fire victims.
According to the indictment, Whitlock Brown, along with her relatives Latricia Whitlock, Romenique Whitlock, and LaQuadra Whitlock, and co-conspirators Jonika James, Iesha Alexander, and Travericka Williams, are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and use of fire to commit a federal felony.
Lashaundalyn, LaQuadra, and Latricia Whitlock are further charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, concealment money laundering, and structuring.
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A US woman, along with several of her relatives and their associates, has been charged in an elaborate insurance fraud scheme that allegedly involved setting fire to more than a dozen homes across Louisiana. Picture: US Attorney’s office
Evidence photos show the aftermath of a blaze allegedly set by a Louisiana family for insurance fraud purposes. Picture: US Attorney’s office
Prosecutors say the scheme involved Lashaundalyn, LaQuadra, Romenique, and Latricia renting homes in their own names or in the names of several other co-conspirators, using fraudulent identities to take out renters insurance on the residences, and then setting fire to the homes.
After the fires, the group filed insurance claims seeking compensation for fictitious losses. The claims often included identical entries and repeated typos.
In addition to making fraudulent insurance claims, authorities allege that Whitlock Brown and her co-defendants defrauded a national charity group by receiving cash payments for fire victims under false pretences.
Further, prosecutors allege the scheme put firefighters and neighbouring residents at risk.
Insurance fraud costs U.S. taxpayers over $US300 billion ($A429 billion) annually and costs the average family between $US400 and $US700 ($A573 and $A1000) in increased premiums per year. While it’s difficult to quantify how much of that is related to arson, the FBI reported that between 2021 and 2026, some 172,934 arson incidents took place.
“The cost to Louisiana policyholders is impossible to calculate,” said Jonathan Tapp, the FBI special agent in charge of the New Orleans division. “But every single one of us pays the price when criminals take advantage of programs meant to help actual victims.”
Between 2019 and 2026, prosecutors allege Lashaundalyn Whitlock Brown, along with her co-conspirators, intentionally set fire to 13 homes in the Monroe and West Monroe areas. Picture: US Attorney’s office
At a press conference in Ouachita Parish on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner for the Office of Insurance Fraud Dominique Jones said the Louisiana Department of Investigation used an AI-powered tool called Anti-Fraud One to help identify the suspicious claims “and uncover organised fraud that might otherwise go undetected.”
“The audacity, the recklessness, and the greed of these defendants to allegedly turn fire setting into a for-profit operation is staggering,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller in a statement. “The conspirators charged here fed their greed by putting innocent lives at risk, including those of first responders, and destroyed the hard-earned property of others while contributing to higher insurance costs for us all.”
Whitlock Brown is being held without bail after prosecutors argued in court filings that her “long criminal history from age 17 to her current age of 40” was grounds to keep her in jail pending trial.
“She was paroled in 2021 and appears to have begun the subject conduct right after,” prosecutors said.
Whitlock Brown is currently in custody at the Ouachita Correctional Center. Her court-appointed lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the charges.
If convicted, she and her co-conspirators face decades in prison.
Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and was republished with permission.
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