Brothers and tow company owners, Mark Hassan, 46, of Corona Del Mar, and Ahmed Hassan, 35 of Walnut, were arrested today on multiple counts of felony insurance fraud after allegedly underreporting employee payroll and paying portions of employees’ wages in cash to defraud workers’ compensation insurance companies out of nearly $6 million in insurance premiums.
The California Department of Insurance launched an investigation after receiving two fraud referrals from an insurance company alleging that Mark Hassan, owner of Hadley Tow, underreported his company’s payroll. The department’s investigation expanded when it received a third fraud referral alleging his brother Ahmed Hassan, owner of California Heights Tow, filed a fraudulent employee injury claim against his insurance policy for a Hadley Tow employee.
Mark Hassen, also the owner of FMG Inc., was doing business as Hadley Tow based in Whittier, Courtesy Tow based in Sylmar, Crescenta Valley Tow based in La Crescenta, California Coach Towing based 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…