Brooklyn Center man admits staging politically motivated arson, receiving money from insurer and donations

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

A Brooklyn Center man has admitted to staging an arson attack by the political left on his property two years ago, and then using the ruse to cheat his insurance company out of $61,000 and collect thousands more in donations.

Denis V. Molla, 30, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to one count of wire fraud in connection with falsely reporting that someone torched his camper in September 2020 because it sported a "Trump 2020" flag and that his garage door was tagged with graffiti reading "Biden 2020," "BLM" and an antifa symbol.

The overnight blaze leveled the detached garage, totaled three vehicles and slightly damaged the home in the 6900 block of N. Morgan Avenue shortly before 4 a.m.

Federal sentencing guidelines call for Molla to serve anywhere from roughly 3 1/2 to 4 1/4 years in prison, the plea agreement read.

However, federal judges have wide latitude when imposing sentences and are not bound by the guidelines. Molla's sentencing before Judge David Doty has yet to be scheduled.

"During his federal plea hearing [Tuesday], Mr. Molla was obviously remorseful about what happened," defense attorney Ryan Garry told the Star Tribune. "He is a wonderful husband and father who made a mistake that he sincerely regrets.

"Unlike many others, he has accepted full responsibility for his actions and is sorry for what happened. He intends to right his wrongs."

Molla submitted multiple insurance claims seeking coverage for the fire damage. When some of the claims were denied, he threatened to report the insurance company to the state's Department of Commerce and Attorney General's Office.

He also created and allowed others to create two GoFundMe accounts to benefit him and his family. In total, Molla submitted more than $300,000 in fraudulent insurance claims and he received about $61,000. He also received more than $17,000 from GoFundMe donors.

Garry said Molla "has already paid back the insurance company in full and will be fully paying back the GoFundMe folks prior to his sentencing. Everyone will be made whole, so to speak."

Deana and Denis Molla previously told the Star Tribune they were asleep in the house with their 2-year-old son and 5-month-old daughter when the fire erupted.

Denis Molla said he saw three strangers near his home when he heard an explosion, the charges against him read.

"In reality, as [he] well knew, Molla started his own property on fire, Molla spray-painted the graffiti on his own property and there were no unknown males near his home," according to the charging documents.