Utah Man Faces Insurance Fraud Charges After 23 Car Crashes

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah officials say a man accused of getting himself into almost two dozen car crashes to collect insurance money has been charged with fraud.

Navid Monjazeb was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with 12 counts of insurance fraud. Authorities say he collected over $55,000 from insurance carriers over five years.

Armand Glick with the Utah Insurance Department's fraud division says those charges came in cases where investigators could show the car was damaged before the crash.

Monjazeb was also charged with pattern of unlawful activity, two counts of forgery and seven counts of reckless endangerment.

Glick says his department opened a six-month investigation after an insurance company recognized similar claims with the same vehicle.

No attorney was immediately listed for Monjazeb in court records.