Unlikely camera in remote area leads to arson and fraud arrest

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- A local woman faces three felony charges, including insurance fraud and arson.

Deputies say 34-year-old April Carter of Lehigh Acres reported her car as stolen, but in reality, she is suspected of torching her own vehicle in order to get insurance money.

The crime report says Carter picked an unlucky spot to dump her car, and then start it on fire.

An insurance investigator came to the scene afterward, and spotted a camera on a power pole. The sheriff’s office says the Environmental Protection Agency put up the camera to record illegal dumping in the area.

The video has not been released, because it’s evidence in the open case against Carter. But authorities say the video shows a woman, getting out of Carter’s vehicle in some woods in a remote part of Lehigh.  The woman then walks to a Cadillac vehicle, which matches the appearance of the car that Carter owns.

The State Fire Marshal found that the fire that burned Carter’s vehicle was intentionally set in two places, and that someone had slashed the seats, so the cushion would burn faster.

Carter was arrested on Wednesday, and bailed out of jail Thursday.

Some insurance industry studies show fraud adds at least $200 a year to auto policies in the United States.