A man buys a classic 1965 Chevrolet step-side pickup and completely restores it, both inside and out. In fact, he replaces the old bench seats with Corinthian leather "captain's chairs" and a hand-made wooden console. The fully restored pickup is worth about ten-times what it originally cost new and of course, the man has it insured for more than $50,000.

Unfortunately, the man falls on some hard times, (his wife leave him, takes half of everything he owns, he makes some bad financial decisions, etc.). If this was not bad enough, one morning he walks outside and find his classic pickup had been stolen! He reports it stolen to the local police department. The burned shell of the truck was found a few days after the report in a river bottom some hour away from his home.

He also files an insurance claim for the loss of the pickup truck. Because the insurance company's headquarters is located in another state, all of the claims-related paperwork, along with all e-mail communications pertaining to the claim, were filed online through the Internet. He later receives a check for $50,000.00 mailed to him through the U.S. Postal Service (you know, snail mail).

About a year after the incident, some mutual friends of the man were preparing their deer lease for the upcoming season; a lease that they share with the man who had his truck stolen. As they were looking for places to set up their stands, they noticed a couple of new stands up in a tree that were later determined to be crudely made of the two "captain's chairs" from the man's stolen pickup truck. The friends, both police officers, report the finding to their supervisors and an updated investigation takes place on the stolen truck report.

It was later alleged that the man's truck was not actually stolen, but that he stripped it of certain parts (i.e. the custom-made leather captain's chairs), set the truck on fire, and then reported it stolen and filed on his insurance.

Considering the facts from the scenario (which again, is based on actual events in a case here in the Tyler area):

(1) Were there any actual crimes that occurred? If so, what are they?

(2) Were there any crimes that could be charged because of the insurance claim? If so, what are they?

(3) Should these type of crimes (i.e. insurance fraud, etc.) see the same level of investigative resources as say, an assault, a robbery, or even a burglary? Why or why not?