Fire Inspection Scam Suspect Arrested

An 11-count felony complaint was filed in August against Robert Musich for a fire inspection scam he ran in several California counties, announced the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. He was arrested in Pomona on September 1. Investigators had looked for Musich, following a trail of invoices he’d mailed to businesses for $411.11, according to media reports. Nearly 900 businesses had paid the invoice for “an annual state required fire safety equipment inspection, test and certification” by Red Mountain Security and Fire Protection or RMS. Ten of the cases took place in Santa Barbara County, said prosecutor Brian Cota, and all invoices amounted to more than $200,000 total.

At the time of his arrest, Musich was on probation after a guilty plea in a similar fraud he’d conducted among Las Vegas companies in 2014. In that case, Nevada investigators had located boat ownership in his name, according to The Associated Press. They called Musich to tell him his boat was sinking and arrested him when he showed up at Lake Havasu Marina in Arizona.

Musich was arraigned in Santa Barbara Superior Court on Friday and could face more than 11 years in state prison if he’s convicted of all forgery and grand theft charges.