Telltale cellphone leads to house fire claim denial

An abandoned cellphone found in the backyard of a house that had caught fire in Ingleburn, Australia, led to an insurer denying the fire claim, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Saturday.

Why? Police and the insurer suspected Jai Sen — a friend of homeowner Sachin Sharma, who had once joked about setting his house on fire for insurance money — had fulfilled his friend’s wish when he allegedly set fire to the house five years ago.

In his mad dash to get away, Mr. Sen dropped his cellphone, according to the news report.

The insurer refused the claim, with a judge on appeal affirming its decision recently, citing police evidence that showed Mr. Sen had used his cellphone eight times that day, including a call to Mr. Sharma four minutes before neighbors reported the flames, according to the report.