US Man Faces 20 years for Insurance fraud after crashing Bugatti Veyron

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A man who became an internet sensation when he crashed his Bugatti Veyron into a lake has admitted the incident was an insurance fraud.

Andy House, 39, thought he had got away with a perfect insurance scam, purchasing the $1.6 million supercar only to crash it a month later into a Texas salt water lake and claim a $2.4m insurance policy – one of the most expensive in US history.

In his claim he said a low-flying pelican had momentarily distracted him as he was reaching for his mobile phone, causing him to swerve uncontrollably, The Express reported.

But what he did not know was that someone had caught his antics on camera – with no pelicans in sight – and posted it to Youtube.

The video was viewed four million times, so when the insurance investigators called in the FBI House’s fraud was soon uncovered.

On Wednesday, five years after the incident, House pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

A United States Attorney Office statement read: “Andy Lee House pleaded guilty to an information charging him with wire fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Giblin.

“House faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing.”

Under US law, wire fraud is defined as “obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretences.”