SUPERIOR COURT
An attempt at insurance fraud ended with felony charges in Jones County Superior Court for two women involved in the crime.
Rachel Keith and Peggy J. Pelham entered guilty pleas Oct. 24. Keith received a sentence of 10 years for the offense of insurance fraud to be served on probation, and Pelham was sentenced to five years, also to be served on probation.
The catalyst for the insurance fraud case was a fire that took place July 2, 2018, at a residence on Friendship Church Road.
A report by EMA Director and Jones County Fire Chief Don Graham said when he arrived at the scene of the fire, he interviewed bystanders and was told the home was owned by Pelham, who lived in Savanah.
He also found out that the man living in the home with Keith told neighbors they were taking a trip and would be gone several days.
Graham said he got the resident’s phone number and attempted to call him to let him know about the fire. The chief said he made several attempts to get in touch and eventually left a message.
Graham said after the fire was extinguished, he made a visual inspection of the building.
“The house had no furniture, no pictures or frames on the walls and no appliances. The only fire load in the house was the fat lighter that the dwelling was built with,” he said.
The dwelling was said to be over 150 years old.
The chief said with the large fire volume and no furniture or appliances inside the house, he deemed the fire suspicious and contacted the office of the Georgia State Fire Marshal.
The report from the State Fire Inspector said he performed an examination of the scene July 10, 2018, and concluded the origin of the fire was inside the structure. The ignition sequence and cause could not be determined due to the amount of damage.
The cause of the fire was classified as undetermined.
When asked the reason for the charges against Pelham and Keith during a Nov. 1 phone interview, the inspector simply said items they listed on insurance claims were not in the house at the time of the fire.
He said the claim made by Pelham was not paid by the insurance company. The inspector added she said she lived in the house but that was found not to be true.
He said the claim made by Keith amounted to $100,000. The inspector said witnesses reported seeing items being taken from the house before the blaze, and items listed on the claims were later found in storage units when they were repossessed.
“I was surprised when the insurance company paid Rachel Keith’s claim,” he said.
