Axe Wielding Durango Business Owner Accused of Fraud

Let’s cut to the chase.  Axes are good for splitting a log or for chopping down trees; but how does it perform as a tool for committing insurance fraud?  For Mohammed Assi of Colorado, not very well.

According to The Durango Herald, Assi, whose family owns a Colorado smoke shop, is suspected of felony theft and misdemeanor false reporting to authorities.

As of now, Assi is free on $50,000 bail, but formal charges are expected to be filed sometime this week by the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Assi, 24, is suspected of driving his white Ford F-250 to a remote location behind Walmart or Home Depot and using an ax to damage the vehicle.

According to an arrest affidavit, after damaging it he parked the truck somewhere else and reported that it had been vandalized.

The incident occurred in early January of 2010.

The vehicle had several dents and several 4- to 5-inch cuts on the tailgate and passenger-side door, and also incurred some windshield damage.

Assi filed an insurance claim with Allstate, and was paid $10,579 for the loss and $1,445 for reimbursement for a rental vehicle, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit also stated however that he only purchased the vehicle back in late 2009 for $4,000.

It is unclear why Assi got more money for the damaged truck than he paid for it.

Police became suspicious in June of 2010 when two people came forward to report that Assi had damaged his own vehicle, the affidavit noted.

This is not Assi’s first appearance in the news, due to the fact that he was involved in a brawl on July 17, 2010 with an off-duty police officer from the Durango Police Department. The officer, Jeremy Linch, has since left the department and pled guilty in April to disorderly conduct.

The police department transferred its investigation of theft and false reporting to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for several months to avoid the appearance of indecency or conflict of interest, however the case was eventually transferred back to the Durango Police Department, through which the arrest affidavit was filed.