This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah man is facing nearly two dozen criminal charges, accused of causing multiple car crashes to collect insurance money.
Navid Monjazeb, 35, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with 12 counts of third-degree felony insurance fraud, along with pattern of unlawful activity, two counts of forgery and seven charges of reckless endangerment.
Court documents allege that Monjazeb intentionally caused at least 22 car wrecks in the last five years, and has collected over $55,000 from insurance carriers alone as he filed fraudulent or exaggerated claims.
Prosecutors with the Utah Attorney General's Office say in court papers that Monjazeb's car crashes were all very similar, and took place within a 10-square-mile area of the Salt Lake Valley — and oftentimes in the same locations.
"The victims indicate that they are moving in the same direction as [Monjazeb], typically they are changing lanes, when suddenly the defendant's vehicle comes into contact with theirs," prosecutors wrote. "The striking location on the vehicle is the rear quarter panel of the victim vehicle and the front fender of [Monjazeb's] vehicle."
The alleged victims told investigators that once they pulled over and spoke with Monjazeb, he would "aggressively assert that the victim was at fault," and would demand a cash payment. He would also "intimidate" the other drivers into signing a statement he prepared asserting they were at fault, prosecutors allege, and would insist that the police not be called.
Armand Glick with the Utah Insurance Department's fraud division told the Associated Press that the charges came in the wake of a six-month investigation opened after an insurance company recognized similar claims with the same vehicle.
Monjazeb is expected to make his first court appearance on Friday.