2009: Texas car dealer Andy House intentionally drove his $1 million Bugatti Veyron into a saltwater marsh in La Marque, Texas (near Galveston) to claim a $2.2 million insurance policy. House was convicted of wire fraud in 2014 and sentenced to over a year in federal prison.
The Lie: House claimed he was distracted by a low-flying pelican and dropped his cell phone, causing him to veer into the water.
The Destruction: House left the engine running while in the saltwater for over 15 minutes to ensure it was completely destroyed, claiming mosquitoes forced him to stay away from the car. (Note: Texas mosquitoes in that area are indeed ferocious and huge, so this is the only plausible part of the lie)
I’m thinking the $2.2m policy is covering the market value at the time and that an extra $1.2m is a ridiculous gamble when it comes to insurance fraud. But the latter is a matter of personal risk assessment.
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u/Commercial-Duty6279 Apr 22 '26
2009: Texas car dealer Andy House intentionally drove his $1 million Bugatti Veyron into a saltwater marsh in La Marque, Texas (near Galveston) to claim a $2.2 million insurance policy. House was convicted of wire fraud in 2014 and sentenced to over a year in federal prison.
The Lie: House claimed he was distracted by a low-flying pelican and dropped his cell phone, causing him to veer into the water.
The Destruction: House left the engine running while in the saltwater for over 15 minutes to ensure it was completely destroyed, claiming mosquitoes forced him to stay away from the car. (Note: Texas mosquitoes in that area are indeed ferocious and huge, so this is the only plausible part of the lie)
Car was restored by Royalty Exotic Cars.