A Florida man is accused of burning two houses he owns and staging the arsons as anti-Hispanic hate crimes.

According to authorities, property owner George Carneiro faked the hate crimes for the insurance money because he was behind on payments for both properties.

The fires occurred March 13 in Clay Hill, Florida, an unincorporated community 36 miles southwest of Jacksonville.

Signs at the scene, which had swastikas and messages that said that Hispanics were not welcome, led the Clay County Sheriff’s Office to look into the blazes as hate crimes.

Video from a nearby Walmart taken on March 12 purportedly shows one of Mr. Carneiro’s employees purchasing fuel tanks with cash. Investigators traced the man depicted back to Mr. Carneiro, and the bank records showing he was behind on his payments on the properties.

The video, information from an interview with the employee, the bank records, and phone records led the sheriff’s office to arrest Mr. Carneiro.

Mr. Carneiro has been charged with arson to defraud an insurer and with filing fraudulent insurance claims related to arson.

“I have zero tolerance for anyone who comes into our community and uses hate as a cover for their own schemes,” Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook said.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.