Glocester Restaurant Owner Sentenced for Arson

PROVIDENCE, RI—Daniel E. Saad, 51, of Spencer, Mass., was in hock for about $2.5 million, according to court records. He owed banks; he owed private lenders; and he owed business suppliers. Then he saw a chance to cut the debt almost in half by collecting insurance on his Glocester, R.I., restaurant, Snow’s Clam Box Restaurant and Pub. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, at 5 a.m. on November 30, 2014, he went into the restaurant by an unlocked back door, spread gasoline around the bar, lit it up and fled.

A woman living in an apartment over the restaurant reported the fire. She was unharmed.

Saad then initiated insurance claims via email later the same day and on the following day.

He was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in federal prison for devising and executing a scheme to burn down his business and then attempting to collect on an insurance policy worth nearly one million dollars.

Saad was also ordered to serve one year supervised release upon completion of his prison term and to pay restitution in the amount of $509,000 to Lloyds of London.

He was convicted in federal court in January on one count of arson, one count of use of fire to commit wire fraud, and two counts of wire fraud.

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