Grimy Times Exclusive: Two Grady County residents have been sentenced for their roles in a brazen insurance fraud scheme that involved setting houses on fire for profit.
Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, G.F. Peterman, III, announced the sentencing of Elbert Walker, Jr. and Shirley Burk on March 24, 2016, in federal court in Albany, Georgia.
Elbert Walker, Jr., 67, of Cairo, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 121 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit arson and mail, wire, bank and bankruptcy fraud, as well as false declarations to a court and several firearms offenses. His co-conspirator, Shirley Burk, 48, of Cairo, Georgia, received a 60-month sentence for conspiracy to commit arson, mail fraud, and false declarations to a court.
The sentencing caps a three-and-a-half-week jury trial in November 2015, during which evidence revealed that Walker and Burk conspired to destroy residential dwellings in Grady, Mitchell, Thomas, and Colquitt County areas by intentionally setting fire to them. The pair then defrauded insurance providers by falsely claiming that proceeds of insurance policies should be paid to them.
The scheme, which unfolded between 1996 and 2006, involved multiple properties, including 1097 Bondvilla Drive in Cairo, Georgia; 410 Oak Street in Thomasville, Georgia; 555 Baggs Ferry Road in Camilla, Georgia; 605 S. Harney Street in Camilla, Georgia; and 608 Oak Circle in Moultrie, Georgia.
Walker, a convicted felon, was previously convicted of Welfare Fraud Conspiracy in New Jersey and had multiple firearms in his possession, some with obliterated serial numbers, at his Cairo residence in 2007 and 2011.
Acting U.S. Attorney Peterman commended the federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities who investigated the case, stating, ‘The criminal activities for which these defendants were sentenced today have been ongoing for years. Time and again they swindled banks and insurance companies and perpetrated frauds on our courts.’
The sentencing serves as a reminder that authorities will hold individuals accountable for such crimes, which pose a threat to public safety.
Related Federal Cases
- Anastasios Alexander Hatzopoulos, Passport Fraud, Georgia 2024 · Georgia
- Phillip Thompson, Government Contract Fraud, Georgia 2023 · North Carolina
- Kelvin Lyles, Synthetic Identity Wire Fraud, Georgia 2015 · North Carolina
- Georgia Phillips, Medicaid Fraud Scheme, Texas 2024 · North Carolina
- Michael Peterson, Wire Fraud, Georgia 2019 · Maryland
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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