Killer Abuses Court System With Multiple Attempts to Get Out of Prison
Post 5178
Posted on August 29, 2025 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://rumble.com/v6y6ule-convicted-of-arson-murder-must-stay-in-jail.html and at https://youtu.be/nnUpStLmDoM
Attempted Arson for Profit that Resulted in Death Requires Life in Prison
In Suresh Kumar v. United States, No. 1:22-cv-4874 (MKV), United States District Court, S.D. New York (August 26, 2025) Kumar, convicted of arson for profit where four people died sought to be let out of jail by filing a Habeas Corpus motion.
BACKGROUND
Suresh Kumar was convicted by a jury of multiple felonies for his role in burning down a hotel he owned for insurance money. Four people died, and fifteen others were injured. Kumar was only sentenced to life in prison.
Kumar pursued multiple previous challenges to his conviction and sentence, which have withstood both direct appeal and collateral attacks. Kumar now petitions for a writ of habeas corpus arguing actual innocence and citing Supreme Court cases.
THE CRIME
Suresh Kumar owned and operated a Howard Johnson hotel in Bowling Green, Kentucky together with his wife and her brother, Dave Sharma. In 1996, a fire destroyed the hotel, killed four people, and injured fifteen others. Kumar later filed an insurance claim seeking more than $4.5 million. A federal grand jury indicted Kumar and Joe Logan, a hotel janitor and the government also sought to arrest Sharma, who fled the country.
THE TRIAL
The government, at trial, argued successfully that Kumar and Sharma, together, had conspired to offer Logan money to start a fire, which Logan did. The jury convicted Kumar of all three counts with which he was charged:
1. conspiracy to commit arson;
2. arson resulting in death and aiding and abetting the same and mail fraud.
Kumar was sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentencing court found that “Mr. Kumar acted knowingly or with awareness that his actions were practically certain to create a substantial risk of death or serious injury.”
Kumar filed a direct appeal, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed his conviction and sentence. The Sixth Circuit considered and rejected Kumar’s arguments. The Supreme Court of the United States denied Kumar’s petition for certiorari. Thereafter, Kumar filed a petition for habeas corpus arguing that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel, among other things. The district court denied the petition, and the Sixth Circuit affirmed. Kumar v. United States, 163 Fed.Appx. 361 (6th Cir. 2006).
Kumar is now imprisoned at FCI Otisville, which is located in the Southern District of New York. He argued that he is innocent, at least with respect to his conviction for arson resulting in death, aiding, and abetting the same because he lacked the required mental state for intent.
Kumar contends he did not intend or know that the hotel fire would cause death.
DISCUSSION
The Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain Kumar’s § 2241 petition. Kumar’s § 2241 petition is precisely what the Supreme Court rejected as an “end-run” around the strict limitations on successive 2255 petitions imposed by AEDPA.
Kumar argued that the trial court should have instructed the jury to determine if Kumar was willing to aid and abet. There is no authority for Kumar’s proposed instruction.
There is absolutely nothing unusual about a defendant arguing that a sentencing court should have applied a downward departure or that a trial court should have instructed the jury differently.
In essence Kumar is asking that after serving 27 years in prison and at the age of approximately 70, Kumar has served enough time in prison.
Of course, the Court has no authority to commute his sentence.
The petition for a writ of habeas corpus was DENIED and the case was DISMISSED.
ZALMA OPINION
Arson for Profit is the most evil and violent form of insurance fraud. In this case, an attempt to gain $4.5 million in insurance proceeds, Kumar conspired with others to cause his hotel to burn killing four guests and injuring fifteen. He was convicted and sentenced, properly, to life in prison. Since his sentence he has filed multiple appeals and petitions all of which failed. It is understandable that he wants out of prison but his crime required life in prison and he will die in prison complaining every day to any court willing to listen to him.
(c) 2025 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Insurer’s Exclusion for Claims of Assault & Battery is Effective
Post 5250
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gBzt2vw9, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gEBBE-e6 and at https://lnkd.in/gk7EcVn9, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5250 posts.
Bar Fight With Security is an Excluded Assault & Battery
In The Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Insurance Company v. Mainline Private Security, LLC, et al., Civil Action No. 24-3871, United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania (December 16, 2025) two violent attacks occurred in Philadelphia involving young men, Eric Pope (who died) and Rishabh Abhyankar (who suffered catastrophic injuries). Both incidents involved security guards provided by Mainline Private Security, LLC (“Mainline”) at local bars. The estates of the victims sued the attackers, the bars, and Mainline for negligence and assault/battery. The insurer exhausted a special limit and then denied defense or indemnity to Mainline Private Security.
INSURANCE COVERAGE
Mainline had purchased a commercial ...
Marine Insurer May Dispose of Vessel to Avoid Waste
Post 5249
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gfn_UHdp, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gDWVccnr and at https://lnkd.in/gv9nsBqk, and https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
In Western World Insurance Company v. The Estate Of Shawn Arsenault, No. 25-cv-13413-PGL, United States District Court, D. Massachusetts (December 17, 2025) the USDC was asked to resolve a marine insurance dispute after the sinking of the F/V Seahorse, a commercial fishing vessel, off Cape Cod on June 8, 2025. The vessel’s owner and operator, Shawn Arsenault, died in the incident.
Western World Insurance Company issued a hull insurance policy for the vessel. With no personal representative yet appointed for the estate, the insurer cannot determine the proper payee for the insurance proceeds.
The insurer paid for the vessel’s recovery and removal, and the vessel is now with a salvage company, incurring substantial storage fees. The insurer determined the loss is covered under the ...
Marine Insurer May Dispose of Vessel to Avoid Waste
Post 5249
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gfn_UHdp, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gDWVccnr and at https://lnkd.in/gv9nsBqk, and https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
In Western World Insurance Company v. The Estate Of Shawn Arsenault, No. 25-cv-13413-PGL, United States District Court, D. Massachusetts (December 17, 2025) the USDC was asked to resolve a marine insurance dispute after the sinking of the F/V Seahorse, a commercial fishing vessel, off Cape Cod on June 8, 2025. The vessel’s owner and operator, Shawn Arsenault, died in the incident.
Western World Insurance Company issued a hull insurance policy for the vessel. With no personal representative yet appointed for the estate, the insurer cannot determine the proper payee for the insurance proceeds.
The insurer paid for the vessel’s recovery and removal, and the vessel is now with a salvage company, incurring substantial storage fees. The insurer determined the loss is covered under the ...
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/dG829BF6; see the video at https://lnkd.in/dyCggZMZ and at https://lnkd.in/d6a9QdDd.
ZIFL Volume 29, Issue 24
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Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 29th year of publication dedicated to those involved in reducing the effect of insurance fraud. ZIFL is published 24 times a year by ClaimSchool and is written by Barry Zalma. It is provided FREE to anyone who visits the site at http://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter
Merry Christmas & Happy Hannukah
Read the following Articles from the December 15, 2025 issue:
Read the full 19 page issue of ZIFL at ...
The Professional Claims Handler
Post 5219
Posted on October 31, 2025 by Barry Zalma
An Insurance claims professionals should be a person who:
Can read and understand the insurance policies issued by the insurer.
Understands the promises made by the policy.
Understand their obligation, as an insurer’s claims staff, to fulfill the promises made.
Are competent investigators.
Have empathy and recognize the difference between empathy and sympathy.
Understand medicine relating to traumatic injuries and are sufficiently versed in tort law to deal with lawyers as equals.
Understand how to repair damage to real and personal property and the value of the repairs or the property.
Understand how to negotiate a fair and reasonable settlement with the insured that is fair and reasonable to both the insured and the insurer.
How to Create Claims Professionals
To avoid fraudulent claims, claims of breach of contract, bad faith, punitive damages, unresolved losses, and to make a profit, insurers ...
The History Behind the Creation of a Claims Handling Expert
The Insurance Industry Needs to Implement Excellence in Claims Handling or Fail
Post 5210
This is a change from my normal blog postings. It is my attempt. in more than one post, to explain the need for professional claims representatives who comply with the basic custom and practice of the insurance industry. This statement of my philosophy on claims handling starts with my history as a claims adjuster, insurance defense and coverage lawyer and insurance claims handling expert.
My Training to be an Insurance Claims Adjuster
When I was discharged from the US Army in 1967 I was hired as an insurance adjuster trainee by a professional and well respected insurance company. The insurer took a chance on me because I had been an Army Intelligence Investigator for my three years in the military and could use that training and experience to be a basis to become a professional insurance adjuster.
I was initially sat at a desk reading a text-book on insurance ...
