Ryan Anderson was sentenced to six months in prison by United Sates District Court Judge Donald Nugent Tuesday in Cleveland.
Anderson was charged on information in April with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and arson in relation to the February 2021 fire that destroyed the former Golden Anchor in Conneaut. He pleaded guilty April 16. At his sentencing, Anderson was ordered to pay $1,156,272.88 restitution to an insurance company, fined $10,000 and received a $100 special assessment fee.
After Anderson completes his prison sentence, he will be on three years of supervised release, six months of which will be spent under home detention, with location monitoring.
Anderson’s defense attorney, Eric Nemecek, said Nugent took a lot of time to consider the facts and circumstances of the case, and Anderson’s character.
“It was a fair sentence,” he said.
Nemecek said Anderson has done a lot to make the situation as right as he can.
“Ryan is a great person who made a terrible mistake, and he has done a lot to atone for it over the last several years,” he said.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio could not be reached for comment.
Anderson and Rueben Schwartz are jointly and severally liable for the restitution. Both men conspired to commit wire fraud after setting fire to the former Golden Anchor, according to Anderson’s initial charging documents.
The charging documents against Anderson say he “did knowingly and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate, and agree to commit offenses against the United States” with Schwartz from January 2021 to May 9, 2022.
Schwartz and Anderson prepared the Golden Anchor for the arson by “stacking flammable materials in particular places and sealing holes cut for windows to prevent bystanders from seeing smoke” and alerting emergency services in time, according to the information.
Anderson and Schwartz did limited renovations “to give the appearance that Schwartz always planned to complete renovations,” according to the information filing.
The information said Anderson set the fire by “using a large torpedo heater, effectively resulting in the complete destruction of the [property].”
Schwartz was sentenced April 9 to 28 months in prison, with credit for time served, after pleading guilty on July 29, 2024 to charges related to the fire.