Top blue city councilor is arrested by FBI over arson and fraud plot
A city councilman in a small northern California community was arrested for allegedly burning down a farmhouse he owned so he and his accomplices could fraudulently collect on the insurance money.
Live Oak Vice Mayor Aaron Pamma, 30, was taken to jail Thursday along with his brother Simren Pamma, 28, who is a Live Oak Unified School District board member.
Also arrested for the alleged scheme was Gurtej Singh, 28, the Butte County District Attorney's Office said in a statement.
The fire in question happened in February of 2024, authorities say Singh purchased the property in April 2023 under a Department of Agriculture mortgage scheme.
One month after the purchase, Singh transferred half of the ownership of the land to the two brothers, the Butte County DA's office said.
The office confirmed to CBS Sacramento that the two are brothers and are friends with Singh.
Cal Fire Investigators said they discovered that Singh had purchased insurance for the property three months before the blaze.
After the fire, he then allegedly filed a false insurance claim on the property, officials said.
The property was sold on after the fire and the three collected an insurance payment which gave them a profit of $200,000, the DA's office said.
The three are facing charges of arson, Aaron Pamma is facing additional charges of fraud, perjury, supporting a false insurance claim and conspiracy to destroy insured property for fraud.
Simren Pamma is facing a charge of conspiracy to destroy insured property for fraud.
Singh meanwhile faces charges of fraud, wire fraud, destroying an insured property for fraud, presenting a false insurance claim and perjury.
Another man, Javier Molina-Bravo, 37, was charged with felony counts of check fraud last March.
Authorities say Molina-Bravo runs Big Dog Handyman and was hired to renovate the farmhouse.
It is alleged that he purchased thousands of dollars' worth of goods and materials from multiple businesses using checks on a non-existent bank account.
He failed to appear for a scheduled hearing in Butte County Superior Court, and is now a fugitive.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said: 'This has been a months-long investigation by our local Cal Fire investigators that started out with an investigation of a fire on the west side of Butte County.
'There very well may be other arrests and activity going out of this conspiracy.'
All three were arrested on a $1,000,000 warrant issued by the county Supreme Court.
The City of Live Oak said in a statement: 'The City of Live Oak is aware of the recent arrest of Councilmember Aaron Pamma
'At this time, the City is monitoring the situation and will continue to assess any developments as more information becomes available.'
'Live Oak City Council and staff remain steadfast in their commitment to responsible governance and continued progress for the community.
'The City's focus remains on delivering essential services and moving forward with key priorities that benefit the residents of Live Oak.'
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