WILMINGTON — A former Chadbourn Elementary School teacher was sentenced to 30 years in prison on wire fraud and arson charges.

State and federal prosecutors said Thursday that 47-year-old Michael Shawn Brown was also ordered to pay more than $345,000 in restitution.

 Brown had a private counseling business that burned in April 2011, the night before he was to meet with investigators about fraud allegations.

Last year, Brown pleaded guilty to fraudulently billing Medicaid for therapy and counseling sessions that never happened. He also said he burned the building to prevent investigators from seeing his billing records.

Brown is awaiting trial in the death of Larry James Townes. Townes was fatally shot during a March 2011 confrontation inside Brown's counseling business.