Man Wanted in Virginia Arson Fire Found in Canada

More than three years after he disappeared amid arson, fraud and conspiracy charges, Jay Aneja has resurfaced in Canada.

But the former Roanoke businessman, named in 12 counts of a federal indictment from a 2008 blaze that gutted his family's Williamson Road furniture outlet, is fighting extradition efforts and remains free on bond just outside Toronto.

Aneja, 50, is charged with plotting and paying for the fire, which caused several hundred thousand dollars in damage to Weekend Sofa Outlet and neighboring businesses.

Three other men already are serving or have served time in the case. When he vanished, Aneja was facing 15 years in prison and a $2 million fine.

Both his wife, Shama Aneja, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennie Waering, who was prosecuting the case, had earlier said they believed Jay Aneja might have gone to New Delhi, in his native India.

According to Aneja's defense attorney in Canada, Leo Adler, Aneja was taken into custody in June 2011 in a suburb of Hamilton, about an hour from Toronto. He was charged with arson, attempted fraud, possession of a firearm and obstruction of justice, Adler said. He declined to comment on what his client was doing in Canada but said an extradition judge ruled the obstruction charge should not proceed.

Aneja appealed his extradition Wednesday and was granted bail Friday, according to Sandra Theroulde, deputy registrar for the Court of Appeals for Toronto. An appeal date hasn't been set, Adler said.

A familiar face in downtown Roanoke, Aneja operated the 7-to-7 Grocery and the Gold and Gift Shoppe, both on Campbell Avenue. He was vice president of Weekend Sofa Outlet, his family's business, when it burned on Aug. 3, 2008. About 35 firefighters fought for an hour to contain the blaze, which caused about $407,000 in damage to the building and losses to its insurer. Nearby businesses required about $300,000 in repairs. Aneja submitted a $137,000 insurance claim.

Federal investigators later maintained that Aneja offered Michael Antwan Lee about $3,000 to set the fire and claimed Lee then hired two other Roanoke men, Jason Ronald Varona and Sidney Montre Terry, to help him.

One year after the fire, Varona and Terry pleaded guilty to charges in the case and later received sentences of seven and 20 months, respectively. The following month, Lee entered guilty pleas to maliciously using fire to damage a building and to being a felon in possession of a gun.

Aneja is charged with offenses including multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, falsely representing himself as a U.S. citizen when interviewed by investigators (he holds Canadian citizenship) and giving a gun to Lee, who had a felony record.

In 2009, Shama Aneja told The Roanoke Times that her husband had played only a small role in the furniture business, which was owned by his stepmother, and insisted they spent their days supporting their children.

"We're hardworking people," she said.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service