Man gets 46 months for boat-sinking insurance plot

CHERRY HILL, N.J., June 13 (UPI) -- A New Jersey man who admitted to attempting to sink a fishing boat for insurance money was sentenced to 46 months in prison.

Scott Tran, 40, of Cherry Hill pleaded guilty to conspiring to destroy a vessel on the high seas and was sentenced Wednesday to 46 months in prison for the August 2009 crime, the Cherry Hill Courier-Post reported Thursday.

The U.S. attorney's office said Tran hired a captain and crew to take the Alexander II about 86 miles off the coast of Cape May in August 2009 and sink it so he could collect $400,000 in insurance money.

However, the attempted sinking failed and Tran's insurance claim was denied, leading him to file a lawsuit against the insurance company.

Tran was also fined $75,000 and ordered to pay $280,000 in restitution.

Three co-conspirators in the plot were previously convicted and sentenced to prison for terms ranging from 24 months to 30 months.