Northern California vice mayor, school member nabbed in FBI arson investigation

The vice mayor of a small Northern California city and a family member elected to the area’s school board were booked Thursday in the Butte County Jail on several charges including arson in an alleged insurance fraud scheme.

They are among three men who authorities have accused of burning a farmhouse they owned, and later sold, in Butte County, as part of a suspected insurance fraud case investigated by the FBI.

Live Oak Vice Mayor Aaron Singh Pamma, 30, was booked Thursday in connection with charges of arson of an inhabited structure, perjury, fraud, conspiracy to destroy insured property for fraud and supporting a false insurance claim, according to Butte County Jail records.

Simren Pamma, 28 and an elected board member of the Live Oak Unified School District, was booked on suspicion of arson and conspiracy to destroy insured property for fraud, according to the jail log.

Their alleged accomplice, Gurtej Singh, 28, was also booked Thursday on charges that included arson of an inhabited structure, presenting a false insurance claim, perjury, fraud and wire fraud, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.

The arrests came after a joint operation between the FBI, Cal Fire and the district attorney’s office, in which the agencies investigated a Feb. 17, 2024, farmhouse fire on Ord Ferry Road in Butte County, said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey in a news release.

Singh is believed to have bought the farmhouse and surrounding orchards in April 2023 using a U.S. Department of Agriculture mortgage program, according to Cal Fire investigators, who found that a month after the purchase, Singh transferred 50% of the property to Aaron and Simren Pamma.

Investigators allege that Singh gave false and misleading information when applying for an insurance policy on the property about three months before the fire. They also allege that after the fire, Singh and Aaron Pamma made several false and misleading representations to the insurance company, according to the news release.

Soon after the fire, investigators allege that the three suspects sold the property and collected from the insurance company for more than $200,000 in total profit, according to the news release.

After the property was purchased, the suspects allegedly hired Javier Molina-Bravo, 37, who owns Big Dog Handyman, to renovate the farmhouse. Molina-Bravo, of Corning, allegedly used checks from a non-existent bank account to buy thousands of dollars worth of materials from Chico businesses for the project.

He was charged with multiple felony counts of check fraud last March and missed his court hearing in Butte Superior Court, marking him as a fugitive, authorities said.

The three arson and fraud suspects, who remain held without bail, are scheduled to appear in court Monday, according to jail records.

The city of Live Oak acknowledged Aaron Pamma’s arrest in a news release Friday that said council members and staff have no comment on the situation.

This story was originally published June 20, 2025 at 4:24 PM.