Metro Police officer accused of insurance fraud

By Chris Kudialis

Published Wednesday, April 27, 2016 | 12:01 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, April 27, 2016 | 12:25 p.m.

A Metro Police officer is facing multiple felony counts after the Nevada Attorney General’s Office alleges he burned a trailer and lied to his insurance company to collect money for it.

Jeffrey Lynn Harper, 38, faces one count of theft, one count of burning of property with intent to defraud an insurer, one count of attempted theft, two counts of insurance fraud and one count of third-degree arson, authorities said.

Harper allegedly set fire to a 2014 Keystone Fuzion toy hauler, valued about $45,000, and a 2015 Razor 90 four-wheeler, valued about $6,000, according to a news released from the Attorney General’s Office.

He told his insurance companies the vehicles were burned by “a fire of unknown origin,” according to a criminal complaint filed Monday by the Attorney General’s Office. He sought at least $3,500 for the damage, officials said.

The Clark County Fire Department, however, determined the fires were set intentionally, according to the release.

Harper's lawyer, Andrew Leavitt, denied today that his client had anything to do with the fire. Leavitt says the trailer was parked, disabled, along a Nevada highway on the way to Pahrump. The four-wheeler was inside.

A judge in Las Vegas set a June 1 preliminary hearing on charges that could get Harper decades in prison. He remains free on bond.

A Metro Police spokeswoman says Harper joined the department in September 1999. He'll be suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal case.

“This attempt to defraud an insurance company is particularly troubling because it was allegedly committed by a person tasked with enforcing laws and protecting the public,” state Attorney General Adam Laxalt said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.