United States v. Banta

Opinion of the Court

COX, Judge:

The question in this case is whether appellant can be convicted of arson when he and the owner of the property in question collaborated to burn it so the owner could defraud an insurance company.* We hold that these circumstances do amount to arson and affirm.

Sergeant John D. Bonnett, appellant’s squad leader, was experiencing financial difficulties. To relieve the pressure, he decided to trade his truck (and the attendant payments) for the proceeds of his vehicle insurance policy ($9,200.00). Not wishing to be implicated, of course, Bonnett induced appellant to…