Kentucky Business Owner Sentenced to 12 Years for Arson

A Kentucky judge has sentenced a Louisville business owner to 12 years in prison for burning down her kitchenware store four years ago.

Jefferson Circuit Judge Audra Eckerle handed down the sentence to Susan Kay Lukjan, who was convicted in May of burning down Campbell’s Gourmet Cottage to collect an insurance settlement. She reopened the business in a nearby location weeks later.

A jury had recommended the sentence after finding Lukjan guilty of second-degree arson, burning personal property to defraud an insurer and fraudulent insurance acts over $300.

Lukjan’s attorney, Tom Clay, said he would file an appeal and would try to get Lukjan released on an appeals bond.