Man burns his camper in fake anti-Trump hate crime to collect donations, feds say

A Minnesota man pleaded guilty this week to faking an anti-Trump hate crime to collect insurance money and GoFundMe donations, federal prosecutors say.

Denis Molla, 30, reported a fake hate crime to police in September 2020, court records say. He reported that someone lit his camper on fire, targeting it for its “Trump 2020” flag, and vandalized his garage door with spray paint reading “Biden 2020” and “BLM.” In reality, Molla lit the fire and sprayed the paint himself, prosecutors argued in an indictment filed July 7.

Molla’s attorney told McClatchy News that Molla was “obviously remorseful during his federal plea hearing....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.”

Molla filed multiple fraudulent insurance claims for damages to his garage, camper, vehicles, and house from the fake arson, according to an Oct. 11 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. When these claims were denied, he threatened to report the insurance company and turned to GoFundMe to raise money, the indictment says.

Eventually, Molla collected $61,000 from insurance and more than $17,000 from multiple GoFundMe’s, prosecutors say.

Molla pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud on Oct. 11 for scheming to defraud an insurance company and GoFundMe donors, court records show.

Both GoFundMe pages — one titled “Help a hurting family” and another titled “Molla Family Arson Fundraiser, Hate Crime” — have been taken down. The “Molla Family Arson Fundraiser, Hate Crime” had raised $17,836 from 220 donors by January 2021, an archived version showed. The “Help a hurting family” GoFundMe page had received $4,345 in donations by April 2021, according to an archived version.

A GoFundMe spokesperson previously told McClatchy News that Molla’s fundraisers were removed and Molla was banned from being a beneficiary on the platform. According to the spokesperson, “if a misuse of funds takes place on GoFundMe, our team works with law enforcement to assist them with any investigation they deem necessary.”

Molla’s sentencing hearing has not been scheduled, the news release said. He faces a maximum sentencing of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Brooklyn Center is about 10 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

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