Trial ordered for Pa. family accused of $20M insurance fraud

    A judge has ordered members of a Pennsylvania family whose mansion had three fires in five years to stand trial in a $20 million insurance fraud case.

    Political fundraiser and hostess Claire Risoldi and her family are accused of living large on trumped-up insurance claims involving their 10-acre “Clairemont” estate in the Philadelphia suburbs.

    Bucks County Judge C. Robert Roth’s ruling Wednesday came after six days of testimony in a preliminary hearing.

    A jewelry appraiser testified that Risoldi used “salty language” and discussed the Mafia during a meeting over her claims that millions of dollars in jewelry disappeared during a fire.

    • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

    Defense lawyers say the fires were electrical and have vowed to fight the criminal charges.

    Risoldi’s husband killed himself in February. Her daughter, son and daughter-in-law are also charged.

    WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

    Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

    Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal