Former California Bookkeeper Sentenced to 70 Months in Federal Prison for Arson and Fraud
Prosecutors argued the act was an attempt to cover up the disappearance of more than $700,000 from company funds.
A former bookkeeper for Off Road Warehouse (ORW) was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison on Monday for setting fire to the business in 2019, an act prosecutors argued was an attempt to cover up the disappearance of more than $700,000 from company funds.
Carey Alice Hernandez, 46, of Rathdrum, Idaho, was convicted in April 2024 of malicious destruction of a building by means of fire, witness tampering, and making false statements following a four-day trial.
According to court records, the fire occurred on March 28, 2019, at ORW’s Balboa Avenue location in San Diego, destroying the building. The fire took place after a financial audit, conducted as part of a potential sale of the business, revealed that $744,621 had gone missing while Hernandez was responsible for the company’s finances between 2015 and 2019.
During sentencing, U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta described the crime as “wanton, deliberate and destructive,” adding that it endangered firefighters and was compounded by Hernandez asking her minor daughter to provide false information.
Surveillance footage presented at trial showed a vehicle matching Hernandez’s near the scene of the fire. Investigators stated that she later misled federal agents and ORW employees about the vehicle’s details, which contributed to the charges of witness tampering and making false statements.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and San Diego’s Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST). The ATF’s National Response Team, which specializes in determining the cause and origin of large fires, played a key role in the investigation.
“Arson crimes are not victimless,” said ATF Los Angeles Field Division Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose Medina in a statement. “These criminal acts destroy lives, property, and businesses. In this case, the motive was greed—fire was used as a cover-up for criminal activity.”
A restitution hearing to determine the amount Hernandez must pay to her victims is scheduled for March 14, 2025.
Hernandez faced a minimum sentence of five years for the arson charge, with a maximum possible sentence of 20 years. The witness tampering charge carried a maximum penalty of 20 years, while making false statements had a potential five-year sentence.