A Holmes County woman is charged with arson after investigators with the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department concluded that she set fire to her own vehicle and reported it stolen.
Kimberly Edwards, 27, of Pickens was arrested last week and charged with one count of arson.
Sheriff Jake Sheriff said deputies originally found Edwards’ burned car on Aug. 29 on Upshaw Road in Yazoo County.
Edwards reported the vehicle stolen two days after Yazoo County deputies found it.
“Our investigators suspected that this might be a case of insurance fraud and stuck with it until they had enough evidence,” Sheriff said.
Insurance fraud is more common than many people realize. In fact, when a car is reported stolen the owner is sometimes among the first suspects due to the frequency of insurance fraud cases.
The number one type of insurance fraud are cases where the car is reported stolen and later found burned in a secluded area or submerged in water. In some extreme cases, cars have even been found buried.
One insurance fraud case in Yazoo County made statewide news when a group investigators dubbed “the Apple Dumpling Gang” towed a car to the scene of a staged crash and participants battered the vehicle before faking injuries.
Law enforcement officers responding noticed that not only did no one seem to be truly injured, there was still a tow chain connected to the front of the vehicle. Further investigation revealed that the engine was cold and not functioning.
Seven suspects were convicted in that case. One of them was also charged with burglary, a crime which he reportedly committed after learning that his arrest was imminent in order to have some bail money.
