A New Jersey man originally set to be sentenced November 27 on charges of conspiring to commit insurance fraud was instead scheduled for sentencing next March.
Falgun Dharia was charged with 6 counts related to a fire that occurred in the Hitching Post Inn about five years ago, when he was the owner. He pled down to one count of conspiring to commit insurance fraud.
Dharia was arraigned in September 2014 by a Wyoming federal grand judge on six counts: conspiring to commit insurance fraud by mail and wire, aiding and abetting wire fraud, conspiring to commit arson, aiding and abetting arson, conspiring to use fire in the commission of another felony offense, and aiding and abetting the use of fire in the commission of another felony.
After Dharia and federal DAs reached a plea agreement, the charges were transferred to the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
While Dharia confessed to having knowledge of the arson when filing an insurance claim worth more than $13 million, he denied any involvement in the act of arson itself.
On top of his sentence for insurance fraud, he also awaits sentencing for a bank fraud case charged in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
