Two brothers who own Southern California towing companies were arrested for their alleged roles in a multi-million dollar insurance fraud scheme.
Mark Hassan, 46, of Corona Del Mar, and Ahmed Hassan, 35, of Walnut, were taken into custody on March 11 on multiple counts of felony insurance fraud, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The pair is accused of defrauding workers’ compensation insurance companies by underreporting employee payroll and paying portions of employees’ wages in cash, prosecutors said.
The California Department of Insurance began investigating the pair after receiving two fraud alerts from an insurance company alleging that Mark, owner of Hadley Tow, had underreported his company’s payroll.
A third fraud alert focused on Ahmed, who owns California Heights Tow, after he had reportedly filed a fake employee injury claim against his insurance policy for a Hadley Tow employee.
At the time, Mark, who also owned FMG Inc., was conducting business as Hadley Tow in Whittier, Courtesy Tow in Sylmar, Crescenta Valley Tow in La Crescenta, California Coach Towing in Walnut and several other tow companies across the greater Los Angeles area.
He also held towing contracts with multiple law enforcement agencies throughout Southern California.
Investigators said Mark reportedly used his uninsured tow company, Courtesy Tow, as a “shell company to conceal portions of Hadley Tow employee payroll to allegedly defraud workers’ compensation carriers of premiums they were owed,” court documents said.
His brother Ahmed, in an attempt to lower his company’s workers’ compensation insurance premiums, is also accused of underreporting employee wages.
“In addition to hiding and misrepresenting employee wages to their workers’ compensation insurance providers, the Hassan brothers paid portions or all of employee wages without withholding standard deductions, which led to the Employment Development Department opening a payroll tax evasion investigation,” prosecutors said.
For both Hadley Tow and California Heights Tow, the brothers reported a combined payroll of $3,038,164 to their insurance carriers, but a forensic audit revealed the actual combined payroll for the companies was $16,716,657, which resulted in an estimated premium loss of $5,897,487.
“Underreporting of workers’ compensation insurance in California is illegal and undermines the financial stability of the insurance system, which shifts costs onto other policyholders,” the California Department of Insurance said in a statement. “It also jeopardizes the availability of benefits for injured workers, hindering their access to necessary support. Unfair competition also arises as fraudulent businesses gain an advantage over ethical ones.”
Mark and Ahmed were arrested on multiple counts of felony insurance fraud. Mark was booked at the LASD Inmate Reception Center and Ahmed was booked at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
The case is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
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