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millionaire owner of a luxury lakefront resort in Minnesota He was arrested and charged with arson after allegedly joking about burning down the property days before it was destroyed in a fire.
Bryce Campbell, 41, owner of Lutson Resort Lodge on the north shore of Lake Superior, did several Comments suggest “burning it” in the days before the massive fire on February 6, 2024, officials said.
Campbell, of Two Harbors, Minnesota, was taken into custody in Southfield, Michigan on December 3 and charged with three felony counts of arson and one count of arson. felony insurance fraud,
a police complaint Viewed by Independent The details described how Campbell had complained of serious financial problems with the resort in the months before the incident, including hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to vendors and other parties.
The complaint said that in conversations with her husband in the week before the fire, Campbell had said she was “depressed” at times and had written “burn it” in response to several messages, including one that owed nearly half a million dollars to the Canada Revenue Agency.
“I think w[e’re] According to the complaint, her husband said, “If it burns it’s on the hook.” At that time we just take the insurance payment and use it [to] Cover the CRA.”
Campbell reportedly responded: “Works for me.”
On February 12, about a week after the fire, Campbell texted her husband, reading: “This usually happens when I joke it off… but Karma didn’t like it… I’m gonna need a new line :/.”
Despite initially telling investigators that he “went home, bought pizza from Domino’s and went to bed,” he later admitted to insurance investigators that he had stopped at the lodge on the night of the fire, shortly before midnight, to get things from his desk.
According to the complaint, Campbell’s debt included approximately $467,000 of unpaid invoices from more than 80 vendors; The previous owners of Lutson Resort Lodge were owed $521,000; $247,000 was owed to townhome associations whose rental properties they managed; And Highmark Builders is owed $277,000. Business checking accounts in their names showed extremely low and even negative balances.
Detectives also noted that Campbell had previously increased the amount of the resort’s insurance twice, increasing it to $11 million in 2022 and again to $13 million the year after that.
Fraud agents from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension determined that Campbell intentionally set the fire to fraudulently collect insurance payments.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said, “In committing this selfish criminal act, Mr. Campbell put his own personal gain over the lives and livelihoods of those he employed, while at the same time destroying a treasured Minnesota historic site.”
Lutson Lodge was built in 1951 and designed by renowned architect Edwin Lundy. Campbell purchased it in 2018 for $6.75 million and claims to have invested an additional $5 million in extensive renovations.
The State Fire Marshal recently completed the investigation on the origin of the fire, determining that it began in the southwest basement area above the boiler room and below the lobby, but the method by which the fire started remains uncertain.
State Fire Marshal Dan Carrier said, “Even in cases where no one is injured, arson is not a victimless crime. This is something the community and anyone associated with this historic resort can attest to.” “I hope these charges bring some closure and a sense of justice to those affected.”
As of this week, Campbell was being held in the Oakland County Jail in Michigan pending extradition to Minnesota.