Developer jailed for £400k fraud near Forres
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A property developer has been jailed for deliberately starting a fire near Forres to try obtain a £400,000 insurance payment.
Michael Maggs, who previously admitted attempted fraud, was today sentenced at Inverness Sheriff Court to 13 months in prison.
The 52-year-old was developing three properties at Earlseat Steading, about three miles south west of Forres.
To obtain insurance he lied that he was living on the site and it was well secured with fencing.
The fire on November 29, 2017, completely destroyed two of the three properties.
However a joint investigation by the police and fire service later found it was deliberate.
Following a lengthy fraud enquiry Maggs was arrested during October 2018.
Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald said: "This was a calculated fraud, involving premeditation and planning.
"It was motivated by greed. You knew what you were doing."
Defence counsel Lewis Kennedy said his client was a first time offender.
He added: "The development had run over time and into financial trouble.
"He saw setting the fire as his way out to retain solvency and save his marriage."
Mr Kennedy added that the property had since been repossessed and sold at below market value.
Both the police and fire service welcomed the jail sentence imposed upon Maggs, whose address was given in court papers as Culbokie on the Black Isle.
Michael Humphreys, the fire service's area commander, said: "The consequences of deliberate fire-setting can be devastating."
Detective Inspector Reuben Lindsay said: "Maggs wove a tangled tale in order to obtain insurance for the buildings he was developing.
"He was economical with the truth, and has now pled guilty to causing the fire and deliberately trying to obtain a large insurance payment fraudulently.
"People like Maggs will not be allowed to get away with such fraud and I welcome his sentencing.
"No matter how long it takes, we will always work to bring those responsible for fraud to justice."
