Iowa man charged with arson, insurance fraud in Lee County

DIXON – A Cedar Rapids, Iowa man is charged in Lee County with setting his pickup on fire in an attempt to defraud his insurance company.

Richard P. Allen, 57, is accused of setting his 2013 Ford F-150 on fire on Dec. 13 in Dixon, then making a false claim to Progressive Insurance Co. The truck was worth more than $10,000, according to the charging document, which was filed March 19,

Allen faces three to seven years on each charge. He is free on pretrial release and has a hearing May 9.

According to Dixon police, Allen was traveling through the area when his truck broke down on Interstate 88. He managed to get it to the Walmart parking lot, where he set it ablaze.

No felony history turned up in a search of Iowa’s online court records.