Tow Company Indicted In $2.5M Vehicle Theft Scheme

For three years between June 2023 and September 2026, the homeowners of towing firms within the Denver, CO space allegedly used their companies to steal automobiles, falsify documentation, and prey on unsuspecting crash victims. Now, the Denver District Attorney’s Office has introduced {that a} grand jury has indicted a complete of 12 folks on 187 totally different counts regarding greater than $2.5 million in losses. 

Two defendants, Oscar Salinas Jr. and Zaki Meharzi, have been accused of a very lengthy record of alleged offenses. The prices allege that they arrived on the scene of visitors accidents, satisfied drivers to allow them to tow their autos to their yard, then charged extreme costs to launch and return them. Speaking to CBS News, Lesley Campos mentioned that she was among the many defendants’ victims. After being concerned in an accident, she mentioned that Salinas arrived on the scene and claimed to have acquired an emergency notification that alerted him to the crash. Local police needed Salinas to maneuver her truck out of visitors, she mentioned, and he or she later agreed to have it taken to Salinas’ yard.

Shortly after, Salinas allegedly contacted her to demand an extreme launch price, then, when she refused to pay, arrived at her residence and demanded she transfer the title to her truck. Campos mentioned, “It sounded, the best way they have been speaking to me, like they get away with this rather a lot.” She added, “This simply is not proper,” and mentioned she was happy the defendants had been charged.

Along with prices regarding predatory towing, the defendants are additionally accused of utilizing their towing companies to steal costly autos, together with Lamborghinis. Some of the autos allegedly stolen by the defendants additionally had their VIN numbers altered, based on the indictment, and the tow vans themselves have been additionally alleged to have been stolen earlier than they have been bought for the companies.

Once the autos have been within the defendants’ possession, the costs allege that they falsified paperwork to erase liens, permitting them to sell some cars that hadn’t been paid off whereas protecting others. Other counts within the indictment allege that the defendants additionally defrauded insurance coverage firms and the Colorado Department of Revenue.

Denver District Attorney John Walsh referred to as the operation “a multi-year legal enterprise,” including that the costs “are the results of the excellent work of prosecutors and investigators within the Denver DA’s Office alongside our companions at CATPA, C-MATT, the Department of Revenue’s Division of Motor Vehicles, and the Public Utilities Commission.”