Hate crimes were staged by homeowner behind on his payments, Florida cops say
Two Florida house fires that appeared to be racially motivated were staged hate crimes, and it’s the property owner who faces charges, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
George Carneiro is accused of resorting to arson after he got behind on his payments for the two newly built homes, investigators said in a news release.
Both fires occurred March 13 in the same Clay Hill neighborhood, causing “substantial property damage,” officials said. The unincorporated Clay Hill community is about 36 miles southwest of Jacksonville.
“The investigation led to Carneiro following the discovery of a video from March 12, 2023, which captured one of Carneiro’s employees purchasing fuel tanks with cash at a Walmart,” the sheriff’s office said.
“This video evidence was key in establishing a connection between Carneiro and the arson. Carneiro owned the homes that were burned and bank records revealed that he was significantly behind on his payments. ...The fires were originally staged with false evidence of a hate crime to conceal the true motive.”
A warrant allowed detectives “to geographically track” Carneiro’s whereabouts during the fires, officials said.
He has been charged with “burning to defraud the insurer and false and fraudulent insurance claims related to arson,” the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators have not revealed specifics about the racist messages, but TV station WTLV reports the hand-scrawled signs opposed the possibility of Latino families moving into the vacant homes.
Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook revealed the hate crime investigation in a March 13 Facebook post, noting “the messages left behind indicated a potential bias based motive.”
This week, she applauded those who helped disprove the scenario.
“I have zero tolerance for anyone who comes into our community and uses hate as a cover for their own schemes,” Cook said in a Facebook post.
“We are fortunate that incidents like this are extremely rare in Clay County, and I appreciate the community members who came forward with information on the case.”
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