NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A judge convicted 48-year-old Clifford Symmons Hunter on Wednesday, March 13, for setting his own property on fire in order to collect insurance benefits, officials said.

On Feb. 17, 2018, Hunter conspired with two accomplices to have them set fire to an unoccupied house Hunter owned on Hydro Street. A Norfolk Fire-Rescue investigator found that the fire was not due to accidental or natural reasons. Hunter intended to use the fire to put in a fraudulent claim to his insurance company.

On July 27, 2019, Hunter’s accomplices burned another unoccupied property on Riverside Drive at Hunter’s direction. A Norfolk Fire-Rescue investigator determined the cause to be arson after finding containers that had been filled with gasoline in the home.

Hunter was found guilty of committing arson and conspiring to commit arson on the first home and conspiring to commit arson on the second home. Hunter is scheduled for sentencing on May 31. Hunter was also found in contempt of court for failing to appear at a previously scheduled trial while on bond, and was sentenced to 10 days in the Norfolk City Jail.

“Setting fires to collect insurance money is arson. It is incredibly dangerous, because if the fire spins out of control it can damage other people’s property and get people hurt,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “And any time someone attempts to cheat their insurance company, they are jacking up the costs of insurance for people who follow the rules. We all deserve better.”