Defendant Set to Face Decades in Prison for Arson Scheme

Jeremy J. Neumann, 43, has been found guilty of burning down a building in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for financial gain. The arson occurred on November 6, 2015, at approximately 10:00 p.m., when Neumann destroyed the Anchorage Realty building, damaging the property of many other tenants.

Neumann, who rented warehouse space at the building for his business Gambit McDermott, had been involved in the sale of returned merchandise to retail stores. The fire started in his warehouse space and quickly spread to the rest of the building. When interviewed by law enforcement, Neumann denied being present at his warehouse space at the time of the fire. However, law enforcement later obtained information from Neumann that placed him there when the fire started.

The government presented a video, recorded from an interior video camera within Anchorage Realty, capturing an individual, determined to be Neumann, in the warehouse at the time of the fire. Following the fire, Neumann submitted a proof of loss claim to his insurance company seeking to collect on the insurance policy after increasing the value thereof, a mere 10 days prior to the fire.

As a result of these convictions, Neumann faces a mandatory 10-year prison term that must be run consecutive to the mail fraud sentence. The arson of a building in interstate commerce charge has a five-year prison term mandatory minimum and a 20-year maximum. The false statement counts each have a five-year prison maximum.

U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad announced the guilty verdict on January 12, 2017. The case was investigated by the ATF, the Wisconsin Department of Justice- Division of Criminal Investigation- Arson Bureau, the Oshkosh Police Department, Oshkosh Fire Department, and Winnebago County District Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys William J. Roach and Zachary Corey.

Sentencing in the matter is set before Chief Federal Judge William C. Griesbach on April 10, 2017. Neumann remains incarcerated pending that hearing.