Staff photo / Ed Runyan At left, Tricia Floyd, 71, of Youngstown, attends her sentencing hearing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. At right is her daughter, Kyrene Rodriguez, 38, of Youngstown. Both women pleaded guilty to various offenses in a three-county $1 million arson and burglary scheme and were sentenced Monday to one year of probation. They were not ordered to pay restitution.

YOUNGSTOWN — Nearly three years after a three-county investigation uncovered $1 million worth of insurance fraud and seven people were indicted in an arson scheme, the ringleader, Tricia Floyd, 71, of Youngstown, pleaded guilty to seven low-level felony charges and was sentenced to probation Monday.

Judge John Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said Floyd could neither be imprisoned nor forced to pay restitution for the thefts because of her severe health problems and because she is “indigent,” meaning unable to pay for her own lawyer.

Her probation will be overseen by the Community Corrections Association of Youngstown.

Floyd’s convictions included one for theft for filing a fraudulent insurance claim involving her home on Atkinson Road on the East Side. The so-called “Floyd Gang” set the house on fire in February 2016. Then Floyd filed a fraudulent claim with Allstate “as to who the arsonist was,” according to her indictment.

Allstate paid $260,236 on the claim.

Floyd also pleaded guilty to insurance fraud for that claim. She also pleaded guilty to complicity to insurance fraud for convincing Nationwide that a legitimate burglary occurred at a property in Ashtabula County owned by Floyd when in fact others in the group set it up to look like a burglary when none existed, according to court documents. That also happened in February 2016.

Co-defendant Ted Wynn drove a New Holland tractor from Ashtabula to Floyd’s home in Youngstown so that its owner, co-defendant Heather Kellar, could report it stolen and collect $30,000 worth of insurance proceeds. Investigators with the Youngstown Police and Fire departments and Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office found the tractor at Floyd’s home while investigating the arson, Floyd’s indictment states.

Another of her convictions was complicity to insurance fraud for a Dec. 10, 2012, fraud at 2328 Carson Salt Springs Road in Lordstown.

Kyrene Rodriguez, 38, of Lois Court in Youngstown was convicted of accepting a car “and other considerations” to set fire to that house, their indictment states. Rodriguez, Floyd’s daughter, also entered guilty pleas and was sentenced to one year of probation during the hearing.

Both women were set for trial Monday, but their plea agreements avoided the trial.

In all, Floyd pleaded guilty to theft, tampering with records, two counts of insurance fraud and three counts of complicity to insurance fraud. She could have gotten more than seven years in prison, but because of her health, she got none.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty to three charges — theft, insurance fraud and complicity to insurance fraud. She could have gotten about three years in prison, but got none. Floyd was indicted on 19 counts in the July 17, 2023, indictment that named her and Rodriguez as defendants. Rodriguez was indicted on 11 charges in that document.

A 2021 indictment also named Floyd, Rodriguez and five other co-defendants. Some of those pleaded guilty to various offenses and are awaiting sentencing. Now that the cases against Floyd and Rodriguez are complete, sentencing for the other defendants is being scheduled.

Those five co defendants are Heather Marie Kellar, formerly known as James Kellar, 48, of Niles; Theodore E. Dozier-Wynn, also known as Ted Wynn, 29, of Youngstown; Juan Rodriguez, also known as Johnny Rodriguez, 32, of Youngstown; Christopher J. Gibboney, 29, of Girard; and Jessica Gonzalez, 51, of Youngstown.

In January 2023, Kellar, 50, of High Street, Niles, pleaded guilty to three counts of insurance fraud, two counts of attempted arson and one count of forgery. All the charges are fifth-degree felonies, and each carries a possible prison sentence of six months to one year.

Jessica Gonzalez, 53, of Forestview Drive, Youngstown, pleaded guilty to one first-degree misdemeanor charge of theft that carries a maximum six-month jail term.

The 2023 indictment states that Heather Kellar met Floyd at a “Pow Wow” at Floyd’s house in Youngstown, where Wynn was a dancer. Kellar and Floyd “devised ways to steal money from insurance companies,” it states.

Some of the charges in the 2023 indictment were first and second-degree felonies. Those are punishable by up to about 10 or eight years in prison if convicted.

During the hearing, Dan Kasaris, senior assistant Ohio attorney general who was the primary prosecutor in the case, said no restitution is being recommended or requested from the defendants.

He said he had spoken with attorney Chip Comstock, who represents the Allstate Insurance Co., and Comstock did not object to forgoing restitution..

The prosecution will not oppose a motion to vacate Kyrene Rodriguez’s convictions at a later point in a similar manner to the treatment in lieu of conviction option, Kasaris said.

Before sentencing, Judge Durkin mentioned that Floyd has “significant health issues” and that Kyrene Rodriguez had sought to plead guilty to treatment in lieu of conviction. He said resolution of the case was delayed by the “the significant amount of restitution and the reality that Ms. Floyd and Ms. Rodriguez were both found to be indigent.” They both received court-appointed attorneys.

He said, “Any restitution ordered in this case would most likely be an exercise in futility.”

Before Floyd was sentenced, she said, “I’m sorry it came to all of this. I don’t know what else to say.” Kyrene Rodriguez did not offer any remarks.

Ingrid Squire, a retired special agent with the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which works with law enforcement to combat insurance crime, attended the hearing but did not offer any comment on the sentences after the hearing.

Also attending the hearing was former Youngstown fire investigator Kurt Wright, who now works for the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office.

After the hearing, Kasaris said the attorney general’s office does not allow him to comment on prosecutions he handles. The office of public information for the attorney general’s office handles such requests, he said.

Also investigating the case was the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office, U.S Postal Inspection Service, Secret Service and Social Security inspector general.

Have an interesting story? Email Ed Runyan at erunyan@vindy.com.