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Press Release

Owner of Hobart Motel Pleads Guilty to Arson Solicitation

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY – KIRANKUMAN GANDHI, 49, has pleaded guilty to soliciting arson, announced U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing.

A federal grand jury indicted Gandhi on July 2, 2019, for attempting to destroy by fire a building at 1004 West 11th Street in Hobart, Oklahoma, where Gandhi owned the Hiway Inn.  According to the indictment, the property was being rented and thus affected interstate commerce.

Today, Gandhi pleaded guilty to a superseding information that charges the related crime of solicitation to commit a crime of violence, in particular arson.  During a hearing before U.S. District Judge David L. Russell, he admitted that between June 14, 2018, and June 12, 2019, he paid an undercover federal agent to burn down property affecting interstate commerce.

Gandhi faces a maximum potential penalty of ten years in prison and a fine of $125,000.  He could also face up to three years of supervised release after any prison sentence.

This case is a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark R. Stoneman and Jacquelyn M. Hutzell are prosecuting the case.

Reference is made to public filings for more information.

 

Updated October 1, 2019