Arson
Strange But True:
A Charlotte, North Carolina man, having purchased a case of rare,
very expensive cigars, insured them against ...get this...
fire! Within a month, having smoked his entire stock
of fabulous cigars, and having yet to make a single premium payment
on the policy, the man filed a claim against the insurance company.
In his claim, the man stated that he had lost the cigars in
'a series of small fires'. The insurance company refused to pay,
citing the obvious reason that the man had consumed the cigars in a normal fashion.
The man sued and WON. In delivering his ruling, the judge stated that
since the man held a policy from the company in which it had warranted
that the cigars were insurable, and also guaranteed that it would insure
the cigars against fire, without defining what it considered to be
"unacceptable fire," it was obligated to compensate the insured for his loss.
Rather than endure a lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company paid the man.
However...
After the man cashed his check, the insurance company had him arrested
on twenty-four counts of arson. With his own insurance claim and
testimony from the previous case being used as evidence against him,
the man was convicted of intentionally burning the rare cigars and
sentenced to twenty-four consecutive one year terms.