Live Oak official denies arson, fraud allegations as federal investigation looms

The investigation into possible arson and insurance fraud stemming from a Butte County farmhouse fire may prompt more charges for the small-town elected officials allegedly involved.

Although the full scope of the investigation, which includes the FBI, remains unclear, some attorneys defending the case are bracing for the possibility of federal charges.

Meanwhile, Aaron Pamma, the vice mayor of Live Oak, a small farming community in Sutter County, has denied the arson and insurance fraud charges filed against him and his brother, Simren Pamma, an elected member of the local school board.

They and a third suspect, Gurtej Singh, have been accused of burning a Butte County farmhouse they shared ownership of and defrauding the company that insured the property, allegedly profiting about $200,000 in what prosecutors have called a “conspiracy ring.”

All three suspects first appeared Monday in Butte Superior Court, where each of their bail amounts were reduced from $1 million to $250,000.

No pleas were entered and they bailed out soon after, said Mike Ramsey, Butte County district attorney. Their arraignments are now scheduled for Aug. 13.

They were arrested last week on charges related to an arson and fraud investigation involving the FBI, Cal Fire and the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.

Aaron, the 30-year-old vice mayor, and Simren, 28, now face charges of arson of an inhabited structure, defrauding an insurer and willfully making a false insurance claim, according to court records.

Aaron’s defense attorney Michael Barrette said in a statement that the charges against his client and Simren are “false and unfounded.” Barrette, who did not return requests for further comment by the time of publication, in the statement also questioned the source and motivation of the charges.

“Vice Mayor Pamma would like his constituents to know that these charges have no basis in fact or law and that he and his brother Simren Pamma will fully and vigorously defend these charges in court and will prove they are in fact innocent of any and all charges,” Barrette said in the statement.

Prosecutors filed the same three charges, and also a count of perjury, against Singh, 28, of Yuba City.

The perjury count stems from the insurance company’s deposition of Singh in April 2024, said Ramsey, who cited another “side investigation” in not commenting more specifically on the nature of Singh’s alleged perjury.

“There very well may be more charges,” Ramsey added.

In anticipation of more charges, including the possibility of ones filed in federal court, Singh has retained a second attorney.

“My client does not have any involvement in the fire and any attempt to defraud an insurer,” said Matthew Smith, Singh’s lead defense attorney, alongside attorney Sarbdeep Atwal. “He’s a 28-year-old pharmacist. He’s never been in trouble before and has no financial need or incentive to be involved in any type of fraud.”

Ramsey said that signs of arson suspected by Cal Fire and suspicions from the property’s insurer prompted the investigation.

When the FBI began investigating is unclear, but the federal agency’s continued involvement has caused suspects to prepare for federal charges.

“I do expect it to go to trial and I also think there’s real potential that it could go federal,” Smith said.

Where’s Live Oak? What happened?

Aaron and Simren were elected in November to their public positions in Live Oak, whose population is about 9,500.

Aaron led the field of five City Council candidates with nearly 30% of the vote, according to Sutter County election results. The city of Live Oak acknowledged Pamma’s arrest in a statement and declined further comment.

In the same election, Simren was one of three candidates elected to the five-member Live Oak Unified School District board.

The rural Sutter County community straddles Highway 99 north of Yuba City, located between the Sutter Buttes and the Feather River.

But the property they are accused of burning and collecting insurance payments from is on Ord Ferry Road in a rural part of Butte County near Chico.

The farmhouse fire in question occurred Feb. 17, 2024.

Cal Fire investigators said that Singh, through a U.S. Department of Agriculture mortgage program, bought the farmhouse and surrounding orchards in April 2023. A month later, authorities said, Singh transferred 50% of its ownership to Aaron and Simren Pamma.

More than a year later, about three months before the fire, Singh applied for an insurance policy on the property, and in the process gave what investigators described as false and misleading representations to the insurance company, prosecutors said.

After the fire, Singh and Aaron Pamma allegedly made false and misleading representations to the insurance company. The suspects allegedly netted $200,000 in profit after selling the property and collecting from the insurance policy, prosecutors said.

Singh bought the property for $800,000 and sold it for $685,000 in September 2024, about seven months after the fire, according to real estate records.

How much the insurance policy paid, and whether the $200,000 accounts for the loss taken on the property, are unclear.

‘A spider web of connections’

The three arson suspects allegedly hired Big Dog Handyman owner Javier Molina-Bravo, 37, to renovate the farmhouse. Prosecutors said that he’s wanted for allegedly passing bad checks to Chico businesses in exchange for thousands of dollars worth of materials, including for the farmhouse project.

He was charged with multiple felony counts of check fraud last March, about a month after the fire, and remains at large after missing his court hearing at the time, Ramsey said.

Other than Molina-Bravo’s renovation work, it’s unclear how or whether he connects to the other suspects and ongoing investigation.

“This is a spider web of connections here and to pull on one pulls on a bunch of others so it would be a little inappropriate at this point to talk about that publicly,” Ramsey said of Molina-Bravo’s involvement.

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