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Sandston man sentenced in arson scheme to collect insurance money

Posted at 5:49 PM, Dec 08, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-08 17:51:24-05

RICHMOND, Va. – A Sandston man has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for his role in a long-running arson scheme to illegally collect insurance money.

Vershawn Jackson was sentenced Friday to 57 months in prison for the crimes that happened over a 17-year period, from as early as May 2000 until as recently as Nov. 30, 2016.

According to court documents, Jackson and his co-conspirators purchased cars or mobile homes at auction, or signed leases at rental properties, insured the property, and set fire to the insured property to collect insurance proceeds.

The insurance fraud conspiracy took place in Richmond, Henrico, Charles City, and Chesterfield counties, to even parts of Florida.

One of the fires happened in the Casey Meadows subdivision in Sandston.

The 39-year-old is one of six people who were arrested in connection to the scheme. Court documents show that Jackson purchased the home just eight days before it burned to the ground.

Court documents show he collected $303,000 from the insurance company.

Jackson pled guilty on August 18, 2017.

Over the course of the scheme, defrauded insurance companies paid out over $1,000,000 on claims by the conspirators.

The other co-conspirators in the case includes Jackson’s father, Verdon Taylor, Eugenia Fleming, Marie Taylor, Sylvia Mitchell and her son Dorel Watson.

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