Investigators with the New York State Insurance Department say a Dutchess County, N.Y., man tried to pay two people $400 to steal and burn his car in order to collect on a claim through GEICO.

As a result, Luis A. Galarza, of Beacon, N.Y., was arrested May 10 and charged with third-degree insurance fraud, according to the NYSID’s Frauds Bureau. Galarza entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment and could face up to seven years in prison, if convicted, officials said.

Investigators learned that the New York City Police Department impounded Galarza’s 2003 Honda Civic after finding it burned, one week before the car was allegedly reported stolen by Galarza.

GEICO declined to pay the insurance claim and no other arrests have been made as a result of the August 2009 incident, officials said.