A former sheriff’s deputy in Jones County, Iowa, has been given 13 years in prison for fraud linked to a fire he set at his vacant home.
Prosecutors say 50-year-old James Plower, of Olin, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Plower had pleaded guilty to mail fraud and using fire to commit a felony.
At his plea hearing, Plower said he made up a scheme to defraud his insurance company. He said he set fire to his vacant home in Martelle and submitted an insurance claim asserting the fire was accidental. He collected more than $66,000 from the insurance company.
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