'This Just Isn't Right': Tow Company Indicted In $2.5M Vehicle Theft Scheme

For three years between June 2023 and September 2026, the owners of towing companies in the Denver, CO area allegedly used their businesses to steal cars, falsify documentation, and prey on unsuspecting crash victims. Now, the Denver District Attorney's Office has announced that a grand jury has indicted a total of 12 people on 187 different counts relating to more than $2.5 million in losses. 

Two defendants, Oscar Salinas Jr. and Zaki Meharzi, have been accused of a particularly long list of alleged offenses. The charges allege that they arrived at the scene of traffic accidents, convinced drivers to let them tow their vehicles to their yard, then charged excessive prices to release and return them. Speaking to CBS News, Lesley Campos said that she was among the defendants' victims. After being involved in an accident, she said that Salinas arrived at the scene and claimed to have received an emergency notification that alerted him to the crash. Local police wanted Salinas to move her truck out of traffic, she said, and she later agreed to have it taken to Salinas' yard.

Shortly after, Salinas allegedly contacted her to demand an excessive release fee, then, when she refused to pay, arrived at her home and demanded she transfer the title to her truck. Campos said, "It sounded, the way they were talking to me, like they get away with this a lot." She added, "This just isn't right," and said she was pleased the defendants had been charged.

Along with charges relating to predatory towing, the defendants are also accused of using their towing businesses to steal expensive vehicles, including Lamborghinis. Some of the vehicles allegedly stolen by the defendants also had their VIN numbers altered, according to the indictment, and the tow trucks themselves were also alleged to have been stolen before they were purchased for the businesses.

Once the vehicles were in the defendants' possession, the charges allege that they falsified paperwork to erase liens, allowing them to sell some cars that hadn't been paid off while keeping others. Other counts in the indictment allege that the defendants also defrauded insurance companies and the Colorado Department of Revenue.

Denver District Attorney John Walsh called the operation "a multi-year criminal enterprise," adding that the charges "are the result of the outstanding work of prosecutors and investigators in the Denver DA's Office alongside our partners at CATPA, C-MATT, the Department of Revenue's Division of Motor Vehicles, and the Public Utilities Commission."