Richboro Man Gets Prison For Burning His Tanning Salon

RICHBORO, PA — A Richboro tanning salon owner who fled to Cambodia after being charged with setting fire to his own business will spend five years in prison for the crime.

Jason Gusoff, 45, was sentenced to 60 months, followed by three years of supervised release, by U.S. District Court Judge C. Darnell Jones, II on Wednesday.

He also was ordered to pay $105,486 in restitution for conspiring to destroy his business by arson and collect the insurance money.

In 2008, Gusoff got someone to set fire to California Tanning Salon, on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia. He then submitted requests for payment to his insurance company and received the $105,486.

He was indicted for the crime in February 2011, but then fled the United States before his trial. Eight years later, in February 2019, he was captured in Cambodia and returned to Pennsylvania to face the charges against him.

"If you are charged with a federal crime in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, you will not be able to evade justice by fleeing to another country," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. "We will find you and hold you accountable for your actions. In this case, the defendant was captured, convicted, and will spend five years behind bars."

The case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"Arson is a violent crime which ATF takes very seriously," said Matthew Varisco, special agent in charge of the ATF’s Philadelphia field division. "The capture and subsequent sentencing of Gusoff exemplifies the dedication of ATF and the United States Attorney’s office to fully prosecute those individuals who commit acts of arson."