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ArchiveJuly 6, 2026Sleuth
Case File · Verdict · No. 011

Daily Casefile · Verdict

The Burning Ledger

9 min

On the night of March 14, 2024, a fire broke out in the third-floor records room at Harwick & Associates Insurance, destroying paper ledgers covering fiscal years 2021–2023. The prosecution contends that Raymond Voss, facing an imminent internal audit scheduled for March 18, set the blaze deliberately to hide a multi-year embezzlement scheme. Voss claims he was at a charity dinner across town all evening and had nothing to do with the fire. The question before you is whether the evidence and witness testimony prove beyond reasonable doubt that Voss intentionally set the fire, or whether the prosecution's case collapses under scrutiny.

Subject

Raymond Voss, senior accounts manager at Harwick & Associates Insurance

Charged with Arson — intentional destruction of company property to conceal embezzlement

The scene

A mid-sized insurance brokerage firm in Chicago, Illinois, 2024

The witnesses

  • Patricia NoelJunior accountant at Harwick & Associates
  • Captain Darnell OkaforChicago Fire Department, Engine Company 17
  • Congressman Terrence AlbrightIllinois state legislator and charity dinner host
  • Melissa TranFreelance event photographer hired for the charity dinner

Play today’s Verdict.

This case first aired on July 6, 2026. A fresh verdict runs every morning — same rules, five minutes, one solution.