US man who raised Rs 18 lakh claiming anti-Trump political attack accused of fraud

"Molla (left) started his own property on fire. He spray painted the graffiti on his own property," claimed prosecuters. (Image credit: Gofundme,@BodyDenny/Twitter)

A US man who raised more than $22,400 (about Rs 18 lakh) after claiming that his house was set on fire by arsonists over his support of Donald Trump is now been accused of faking the attack as part of an insurance scam.
Dennis Molla had claimed that his property was damaged by anti-Trump arsonists, but according to prosecutors, he vandalised his property himself to secure a $300,000 (Rs 2.4 crore) insurance payout and lakhs more in donations, Business Insider reported.

Now, he has been charged with wire fraud for his insurance claims and the fundraisers in his name.

During Molla's indictment, the prosecutors said, "In reality, Molla started his own property on fire. He spray painted the graffiti on his own property, and there were no unknown males near his home."
Authorities found two GoFundMe campaigns matching the description of the vandalism described by Molla were found on the site until the day after Molla was reported being charged with fraud. One of the pages had nearly Rs 14 lakh in donations while the other had about Rs 3.5 lakh. In both the campaigns, Molla was listed as the beneficiary, the publication stated.

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Meanwhile, a spokesperson for GoFundMe told Insider that they removed the campaigns and banned the beneficiary from their site.

"While the overwhelming majority of people use our platform to help others, we are aware that bad actors exist and also why we take any misuse of our platform very seriously," the spokesperson stated. "We are a platform that requires authenticity and transparency and if funds are not used for the intended purpose of a fundraiser, that is a violation of our terms of service."

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According to the publication, Molla's family used some of the money to buy a new truck. "Thanks to you, last week we were finally able to buy a new work truck, which had lifted a huge burden off our shoulders," the family had announced adding that after the "vandalism" they received support from "both sides of the political spectrum".