Plymouth Man Sentenced To Prison For Burning Down Own Home

PLYMOUTH, MI — A Plymouth man who intentionally burned down his own home in 2019 to collect insurance money was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution Tuesday, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Patrick Nolan, 42, was sentenced to 7-20 years’ behind bars and ordered to pay $272,581 in restitution to the insurer of the home he intentionally burned down.

A jury found Nolan guilty of one count of arson of an insured dwelling and one count of second-degree arson earlier this month in the Third Circuit Court in Wayne County.

"Every arson represents another instance where our firefighters and first responders risk their lives to protect public safety, and that’s an unacceptable danger to our communities," Nessel said. "I am grateful for the investigative collaboration between my Department and the Fraud Investigation Unit at the Department of Insurance and Financial Services, that ultimately lead to these criminal convictions. Insurance fraud drives up the costs of insurance policies for consumers everywhere."

Officials from the Plymouth Township Police and Fire Departments responded to a house fire in the 50000 block of Sheffield Court, just after 2 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2019, according to the Michigan Attorney's General office.

Nolan owned the home, and subsequently attempted to make an insurance claim on the loss, according to the Michigan Attorney's General office.

During their investigation, officials determined the cause to be arson because:

• Gasoline was found poured throughout the home.
• The fire was intentionally set in three separate, unconnected areas of the home: the master bedroom, the basement storage room and the common hall at the top of the basement stairs.
• The fire was human caused, no natural causes were located in the home.

Investigators then used information from Nolan's truck's infotainment system to put him at the home just before the fire started, according to the Michigan Attorney's General office.

"Every arson represents another instance where our firefighters and first responders risk their lives to protect public safety, and that’s an unacceptable danger to our communities," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.

No one was inside the home at the time of the fire, and no one was injured, officials said.