United States v. Thomas
| Decision Date | 03 January 2022 |
| Docket Number | 3:18-CR-45 JD |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MICHAEL THOMAS |
This matter comes before the Court on Michael Thomas's motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. On April 11, 2018, a grand jury indicted Thomas on four counts of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 1341. After a jury trial, Thomas was found guilty on all four counts. In his motion seeking relief, Thomas now argues that his trial counsel, Brian Woodward, provided ineffective assistance. The Court now denies Thomas's motion, finding that even if Woodward's performance was deficient in some respects, he was not prejudiced given the overwhelming amount of evidence presented against him at trial.
The Born's Trailer Park is located in North Judson, Indiana and has fewer than one hundred homes. (Tr. 42: 5-9, 16-18.)[1] Despite the trailer park's small size, a large number of fires occurred there from 2004-2013. In that time frame, there were at least eight fires, which all had one common connection: Michael Thomas. The circumstances surrounding each fire were similar. First, Thomas would purchase a new insurance policy or renew an insurance policy for a property located in the Born's Trailer Park in either his name or his wife's name. Then, shortly after taking out a policy, the recently insured property would catch fire. Afterwards, Thomas would submit an insurance claim. In total, after the fires on the four dates described below, Thomas received more than $600, 000 in claim payments.
(1) Fire on September 17, 2004
In late August of 2004, Thomas began to purchase multiple insurance policies for his mobile home at 2691 Julia Drive. Within three weeks, the mobile home would have a severe fire, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in insurance payments to Thomas. One of the insurance policies provided for $80, 000 in coverage and went into effect on August 31, 2004. (Tr. 61: 8- 19; Gov. Ex. 2 at 5.)[2] The second policy provided coverage of approximately $23, 000 and went into effect on September 17, 2004-the very same day as the fire at 2691 Julia Drive. (Tr. 65: 12-19; Gov. Ex. 48 at 3.)
The fire on September 17, 2004, began a little after 9:30 p.m. (Tr. 45: 6-9), with the alarm notifying the fire department at 9:48 p.m. (Id.). Initially, not much was known about what caused the fire. There was an investigation by the insurance company, but it could not determine the cause and origin. (Tr. 86: 1-3.) Because the investigators were unable to conclude that Thomas intentionally set the fire, the insurance companies paid him a total of $75, 000. (Tr. 83: 2-3.)
Even though the investigators could not determine the cause of the fire in 2004, multiple Government witnesses at Thomas's trial in 2018 testified about the circumstances surrounding the fire. Thomas's second wife, Jennifer King, testified that Thomas eventually confided in her about how he set the fire. He told her that he had his cousin, Dustin Cleary, set the 2004 fire in order for two insurance claims to pay out. (Tr. 309: 10-14.) Another witness, Kyle Nissen, a former friend of Thomas's, corroborated King's account at trial. Nissen testified that Thomas told him that he had a family member set the fire at 2691 Julia Drive by pouring alcohol on a dryer outlet. (Tr. 256: 4-6.)
(2) Fires on November 14, 2010
Thomas's run in with fires didn't stop in 2004. On the night of November 14, 2010, four properties caught fire in the Born's Trailer Park. These fires were also connected with Thomas. One of the properties that caught fire was a mobile home owned by his then mother-in-law at 5326 South A. Street. (Tr. 310: 3-4.) The other property, 5081 South 275 West, was a fairly recent purchase by Thomas, which he had originally hoped to fix up and rent to tenants. (Tr. 254: 24-25; Tr. 312: 18-21.)
Similar to the fire in 2004, Thomas purchased insurance policies in the weeks leading up to the fires. (Tr. 69: 1-4.) This time, however, the policies were taken out in King's name. According to King, Thomas believed it would be difficult for him to take out insurance policies in his name due to the prior fire in 2004. (Tr. 311: 5-11.) Therefore, Thomas pressured King into purchasing them on his behalf. (Tr. 310: 19-22.) One day, Thomas dialed the insurance company, handed King the phone, and directed King to purchase the policies on both of the homes. (Tr. 311: 3-10.) She capitulated to his demands, and purchased the policies. (Id.) One of the policies insured the property at 5081 South 275 West. The other policy insured King's mother's home at 5326 South A. Street. Around the time these policies were taken out, Thomas's bank account was also low on funds. Two days prior to the fires, Thomas's bank account had only $513.66. (Tr. 360: 24-25.)
When King's mother found out about the insurance policy taken out on her home, she was upset, and told her daughter that she wanted it “canceled now.” (Tr. 313.) King eventually asked her husband about cancelling the policy on November 14, 2010. (Tr. 313: 8-10.) However, rather than agreeing to cancel the policy, Thomas responded by saying “[i]t will be taken care of before then.” (Tr. 313: 14-16.)
“It” appears to refer to Thomas's plan to set four homes in the Born's Trailer Park on fire in coordination with his neighbor, Kyle Nissen. Nissen testified that he got involved with the plan after Thomas agreed to sell him property that he wanted to invest in. (Tr. 257: 17-18.) When it appeared that King was going to cancel the policy on her mother's home, Thomas told Nissen that they had to act quickly and “do all four” that night. (Tr. 258: 21-23.) The “four” referred to the properties the men planned on setting ablaze-two properties each. While only two of those four properties were insured by Thomas, they planned on setting the other fires to deflect suspicion that they were intentionally set. (Tr. 255: 3-7.) According to Nissen, that night, on November 14, 2010, he set fire to the two properties closest to him: 5081 South 275 West (as well as the garage) and 2129 Airstream. Thomas, on the other hand, set the fires at 5307 South Holiday and 5326 South A, again because they were closest to him. (Tr. 259: 8-9, 18-19.)
The fire marshals in charge of investigating the scene, Fred Sumpter and Robert Dean, determined that the fires were intentionally set, and that an ignitable liquid had been used to set them. (Tr. 169: 3-6; Tr. 398: 22-25.) While the insurance company did not have to pay on the policies if it could show that the homeowner intentionally set the fire, it could not conclude that Thomas was the individual who intentionally set the fires. (Tr. 71: 20-24.) So, like the previous fire in 2004, Thomas received a significant sum as reimbursement for the fire damage to the two insured properties. In total, he received $50, 000 from the two insurance policies. With that money, Thomas began to purchase other mobile homes as investments. (Tr. 262: 15-21.)
(3) Fire on January 9, 2013
The sixth fire occurred at a property Thomas purchased in 2012. Thomas initially purchased the property, a mobile home located at 5101 South 275 West, hoping he could resell it at a profit. (Tr. 262: 21-23.) Nissen was also involved with this investment, providing funds to outfit the mobile home with a concrete foundation, as well as new plumbing and a paint job. (Tr. 264: 4-8.) However, according to Nissen, the property didn't sell like they had hoped. (Id.) King testified that Thomas started to get upset that the property was sitting for so long. (Tr. 317: 5-6.) One day, Thomas told Nissen that the property “had to go.” (Tr. 264: 17-18.) Within two weeks of Thomas saying, “it had to go, ” the mobile home caught fire. (265: 20-21; 266: 6-7.)
Similar to the fires in 2010, Thomas's bank account was low on funds prior to January 9th, having only $222.08 in it. (Tr. 361: 11-14.) In the weeks leading up to the fire, Thomas also took out an insurance policy on 5101 South 275 West. (Tr. 72: 7-11.) This policy provided for $63, 000 in coverage. (Gov. Ex. 13 at 1095.) After the fire, the insurance investigator who looked into Thomas's insurance claims thought there were red flags. When he interviewed Thomas, Thomas took no interest in what caused the fire, which was unusual. (Tr. 114: 17-22.) Additionally, Thomas reported that he had lost a washer and dryer in the fire, but there was no evidence of any washer and dryer being in the mobile home. (Tr. 117: 20-22.) Despite these suspicions, however, the insurer decided to reimburse Thomas, determining that it would be more expensive to investigate than to pay out on the claim. (Tr. 119: 3-12.) Ultimately, Thomas received a check for $60, 000 in insurance proceeds. (Tr. 74: 14-18.)
(4) Fires on April 17, 2013
The final two fires occurred on April 17, 2013, at Thomas's mobile home at 2691 Julia Drive-the same location as the 2004 fire. The circumstances surrounding these fires were reminiscent to the previous fires. As with the other fires, Thomas insured the property shortly beforehand, renewing a policy in February of 2013. (Gov. Ex. 16 at 9783.) And, as with the other fires, Thomas's bank account had a low balance prior to them occurring. On the same day of the fire, his bank balance was negative $91.43. (Tr. 361: 18-20.)
Prior to April 17, 2013, it appeared that Thomas was anticipating another fire. King testified that, shortly before the home caught fire, Thomas told her “you better get out what you want that's important to you.” (Tr. 319 18-19.) Thomas also began to move his own property away from the mobile home at 2691 Julia Drive. Nissen testified that, on...
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