Attorney for Live Oak’s vice mayor charged with being in a ‘fraud conspiracy ring’ issues cryptic statement about how his client will respond

Vice Mayor’s brother and friend also arrested for alleged false claim over 2024 farmhouse fire

By Ken Magri

On Wednesday night, June 18, Live Oak vice-mayor and lifetime resident Aaron Pamma attended the regularly scheduled meeting of the city council, where the 30-year-old asked questions about the 2025/26 budget before voting with his colleagues to approve it.

The next day, Pamma, his brother, Simren Pamma — who’s on the Live Oak school board — and a friend named Gurtej Singh of Yuba City, were all arrested. The trio was charged with conspiracy to commit arson and insurance fraud in Butte County.

The apprehensions came after a lengthy investigation by the Butte County District Attorney working with the CalFire Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI.

The case centers on an alleged fraudulent insurance claim for a 2024 fire at a farmhouse and orchard that’s southwest of Chico, which is owned by the three defendants. While the exact charges vary slightly from one suspect to another, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey is alleging “arson, supporting a false insurance claim, perjury, fraud, and conspiracy to destroy insured property for fraud.”

All three suspects have since been released on bail which was originally set at $1,000,000, but later reduced to $250,000 each.

The farmhouse and orchard on Ord Ferry Road were originally purchased in April, 2023, by Singh, using a U.S. Department of Agriculture mortgage program, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s press release. This USDA mortgage program typically offers 30-year home loans with no down payment for those who qualify.

One month later, Singh reportedly transferred 50% ownership to the Pamma brothers. Ten months later, on February 17, 2024, the farmhouse was destroyed in a fire and an insurance claim was made.

“CalFire investigators determined Singh had purchased an insurance policy on the house approximately three months before the fire,” prosecutors said in a statement. “Working with the insurance company, investigators determined Singh had made numerous false and/or misleading representations in the application for the insurance policy and that Singh and Aaron Pamma had made numerous false and/or misleading representations to the insurance company after the fire.”

According to District Attorney Ramsey, the suspects then sold the property while collecting an insurance payment for the fire, amounting to a $200,000 profit.

As part of the alleged conspiracy, the suspects had hired Javier Molina-Bravo of Corning, 37, to make improvements on the original farmhouse. He was charged last March with check fraud, and alleged to have written fake checks from a non-existent bank account for thousands of dollars for goods and materials at several Chico businesses.

Authorities say that Molina-Bravo missed a scheduled court hearing and is now considered a “wanted fugitive from justice.”

Before being elected to the Live Oak City Council last year, Pamma earned a B.S. degree in Science from Chico State, and later graduated from the College of Pharmacy at California Northstate University in Elk Grove.

The Law Office of Michael R. Barrette issued a statement after being retained by Aaron Pamma.

“Vice-Mayor Pamma would like his constituents to know that these charges have no basis in fact or law, and that he and his brother Simren Pamma will fully and vigorously defend these charges in court and will prove they are in fact innocent of any and all charges,” Barrette asserted.

Whether the Yuba City attorney also represents Simrin Pamma and Gurtej Singh is unknown. Barrette’s statement also mentioned that the family is fully behind the Pamma brothers and convinced they will eventually be vindicated.

But the declaration also included an unusual sentence that some locals might interpret as a threat of legal retribution.

“Vice Mayor Pamma does not know if these charges are politically motivated or the source of these charges, but anyone complicit in any malicious prosecution or false reporting of false information to cause these charges to be brought will be pursued to the full extent of the law for damages to their reputation and their family name,” Barrette’s statement read.

Suspects Pamma, Pamma and Singh are scheduled to appear in Butte County Superior Court on August 13 at 8:30 am to complete their arraignment and to enter a plea.

A conviction for arson with the intent to defraud an insurance company typically brings a state prison sentence between 16 months and three years, depending on the specific circumstances. District Attorney Ramsey has not stated whether his office will seek a plea deal or take this case to trial.