The owners of a Mississippi fire safety company are headed to prison after pleading guilty to a massive fraudulent operation that spanned more than a dozen counties and left local businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.
Daniel and Sherry Finnegan, the owners of Finnegan Fire Safety Equipment, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Rankin County. The allegations result from the Mississippi Office of the State Fire Marshal’s extensive investigation into inadequate fire protection systems and financial abuse.
Related posts
Daniel Finnegan was sentenced to 20 years in prison, seven of which he will spend. He’s been ordered to pay $67,853.95 in restitution.
Sherry Finnegan received a five-year sentence, four of which were suspended and one of which she had to serve. Her ordered restitution is $20,000.
The plea contains 12 charges apiece in Rankin and Madison counties, but the Finnegans’ operations were considerably more extensive.
Originally, investigators charged each owner with 41 felony counts of false pretense and dozens of fire code infractions.
While the documented cash loss to victims is $343,162.69, officials caution that the true damage might be substantially greater. Many company owners were required to hire secondary contractors to repair “deficient” or non-compliant fire systems installed by the Finnegans to ensure their buildings passed safety requirements.
