Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 | 4:01 p.m.
A Las Vegas man and his mother have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of intentionally burning down a mini-mart in North Las Vegas to collect insurance money, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the district of Nevada announced today.
Peter Argyris, 46, and his mother, Joann Argyris, 67, were charged with conspiracy to commit arson, arson resulting in death, use of fire to commit mail fraud, six counts of mail fraud and criminal forfeiture, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The two owned commercial property at 3829 E. Craig Road in North Las Vegas that housed a gas station, convenience store and restaurant called the JCW Mini-Mart, officials said.
The defendants held an insurance policy worth about $4.7 million on the property. From about June to September 2010, the defendants conspired and devised a scheme to intentionally burn down the mini-mart so they could collect on the insurance, according to the news release.
On September 19, 2010, the defendants destroyed the mini-mart by lighting in on fire, resulting in the death of Brandon Davis, 26, who died in the fire, officials said.
In December 2010, Peter Aryris submitted an insurance claim seeking about $1.4 million and falsely representing the cost of the fire damage, officials said.
Peter Argyris and Joann Argyris were arrested Tuesday by ATF special agents and were scheduled to appear in court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge George Foley Jr.
They face up to life in prison on the conspiracy and arson charges, 10 years consecutive on the use of fire to commit mail fraud, up to 20 years in prison for each mail charge, and up to $250,000 in fines on each count if convicted, according to the news release.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy