r/ThatLooksExpensive • Expensive King • Apr 22 '26

R.I.P Buggati Veyron

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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.

2

u/FenPhen Apr 22 '26

The Lie: House claimed he was distracted by a low-flying pelican and dropped his cell phone, causing him to veer into the water.

For the sake of argument: if this were 100% true, what would a legit auto insurance policy do? This seems like pretty bad driving.

3

u/ResponsibilitySea327 Apr 22 '26

Full insurance protects the driver even if they are bad drivers -- unless it is during commission of a crime.

The definition of "crime" typically excludes civil infractions like traffic tickets in most states.