Fargo man accused of setting fire to his house, filing false insurance claim

FARGO-A man whose Fargo home suffered heavy fire damage twice in two years has been charged with arson and insurance fraud in connection with one of the losses.

Documents filed in Cass County District Court accuse Quang A. Son of starting a fire on Dec. 15, 2014, that heavily damaged his home at 4264 Russet Ave. in Fargo.

The documents also accuse him of filing a fraudulent claim with his insurance company in an attempt to receive more than $50,000 for the loss.

Court documents state that records show Son left work in Fargo at 11:28 a.m. on the morning of the fire and checked back in at noon that day.

Cellphone records also show that Son's phone traveled from his place of work that morning to an area near his residence, and back to his place of work during the time he was checked out of his workplace.

Son provided investigators with a statement shortly after the fire, claiming he sat in his vehicle in the parking lot of his workplace during the entire time he was checked out the morning of the fire, the court documents state.

At the time of the fire, officials estimated damage to Son's home at about $100,000.

The December 2014 fire was the second fire to damage Son's home in a two-year span.

The first occurred on Nov. 16, 2012.

Reconstruction of the home following the 2012 fire cost more than $230,000, according to a lawsuit filed in Cass County District Court by a contractor who claimed Son stopped making payments on the repair work in February 2014, leaving more than $57,000 unpaid.

The suit filed by Don Engebretson Construction stated that a construction lien on Son's property allowed for foreclosure on the house.

Court records show the civil case was dismissed and closed earlier this year before going to trial.

Papers filed with the criminal charges state that Son was aware at the time of the December 2014 fire that a restoration lien on his home was about to be foreclosed on.

Son faces one count of arson and one count of committing a fraudulent insurance act for allegedly making one or more false statement to his insurance company in an attempt to receive more than $50,000 from an insurance policy.