A Warren County woman under indictment on bankruptcy fraud charges has been formally charged by a federal grand jury with intentionally setting a fire that destroyed the Horse Cave Dollar General Store.

Debra Fowler Kessinger, 57, was indicted in connection with the 2011 fire at the East Main Street retailer.

The formal charge is maliciously damaging and destroying and attempting to damage and destroy, by means of fire, real and personal property used in interstate and foreign commerce.

The Horse Cave Volunteer Fire Department responded to the blaze June 27, 2011, but the building was a total loss and had to be demolished. A new store was built in its place.

Kessinger is scheduled to be arraigned April 23 in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green on the arson charge, which carries a maximum potential punishment of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction.

In addition to the arson case, a federal grand jury issued a two-count superseding indictment this week against Kessinger that charges her with making false claims in a bankruptcy filing and fraudulently transferring and concealing property in contemplation of a bankruptcy petition.

Kessinger failed to disclose thousands of dollars in assets in a bankruptcy petition filed Nov. 13, 2008, according to the indictment.

Kessinger is accused of concealing the receipt in 2008 of $47,079 in retirement benefits from her deceased husband and transferring those funds to others, according to court records.

Also, between 2008 and 2009, Kessinger is accused of concealing the receipt of $95,124 from her late husband’s life insurance policy. The indictment said she concealed and transferred those funds from her MetLife account to creditors and others and bought a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox with $14,370 from the life insurance policy. 

She is accused of concealing a total balance of $13,859 in her MetLife account on the date of her bankruptcy filing and concealing the purchase and possession of property at Porter Pike in Oakland, according to the indictment.

The bankruptcy fraud case is currently scheduled for trial May 5 in U.S. District Court, and Kessinger faces up to 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines if she is found guilty on both counts.

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter at twitter.com/jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.