Convicted Arsonist Wants Iraqi Money Back

Convicted arsonist Jonathan P. Wiktorchik Jr. and his wife, Helen, are petitioning a judge to get back several million Iraqi dinar that the government seized as financial restitution from their Churchville Road home, according to an article in Tuesday's Bucks County Courier Times.

Tens of millions in the Middle Eastern currency were taken from the Wiktorchiks equals about $11,000 in United States dollars, according to figures provided to the paper by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Minni.

Wiktorchik was found guilty of arson, mail fraud, and making false statements to federal investigators following after a trial in Philadelphia in early 2011. He is in prison after being sentenced 17 years and having to pay $1.5 million in restitution, the report states.

, Wiktorchik used gasoline to light the fire, which destroyed his business, the Bucks County Chiropractic Center, and the rest of the strip mall, which contained four other business.

The 59-year-old former chiropractor initially told investigators he was on a camping trip with his son and when he got to the fire scene gang members assaulted him. 

In the period of time following the fire, Wiktorchik filed an insurance claim and received a initial payment of $50,000. The investigation later proved the doctor had set the fire intentionally.