The owner of a Mexican restaurant chain in Central California has been arrested on federal charges after he allegedly hired a member of a motorcycle gang to set fire to one of his eateries, prosecutors said.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of California, Robert "Bobby" Salazar has been charged with arson of commercial property and arson in furtherance of a felony. The 63-year-old is the owner of "Bobby Salazar's", a chain of restaurants in Fresno and nearby Clovis.

Salazar was charged in connection with a fire last year at a vacant Bobby Salazar's restaurant on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno.

According to the criminal complaint, the restaurant had closed in Jan. 2024. The following month, Salazar renewed the insurance policy with increased coverage.

On the morning of April 2, 2024, the restaurant burned down, which investigators determined the cause of the fire to be arson.

According to court documents, agents learned that the person who set the fire was the president of the "Screamin' Demons", a local motorcycle club. Salazar allegedly hired the gang member to start the fire and claimed to the insurance company he had nothing to do with the arson.

Prosecutors said Salazar was paid at least $980,739 for his insurance claim.

Salazar is scheduled to appear in a Fresno court on Wednesday. If convicted, he faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years for commercial arson and a 10 year mandatory consecutive sentence for arson in furtherance of a felony.