A Denver grand jury indicted 12 people in an alleged predatory-towing scheme that targeted Lamborghinis.

An indictment means a grand jury found probable cause after hearing only the prosecution. It is not a conviction. The DA's release names just two of the 12 defendants and says what prosecutors think they did. It does not name the other 10. This case will be fought over paper: forged titles, erased liens, and what each tow driver knew when he hooked up a car at a crash scene.

The Denver District Attorney's Office said Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, that a Denver grand jury returned an indictment charging 12 defendants with 187 counts in what it called a "wide-ranging, multi-state scheme involving multiple car thefts, forgeries, and car theft through predatory towing." The Denver Post reported Friday that the indictment was returned last month. According to the DA's office, the charges include numerous forgery counts; counts of defrauding creditors, the Colorado Department of Revenue, and insurance companies; theft counts tied to selling fraudulently towed vehicles to auto dealerships and others; and seven counts of motor vehicle theft from predatory towing. The office said total losses are more than $2.5 million.

The indictment alleges that between June 25, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2026, two of the defendants, Oscar Salinas Jr. and Zaki Meharzi, used their towing businesses to steal Lamborghinis and other high-value vehicles, buy stolen tow trucks, switch vehicle identification numbers, and use false and forged paperwork to erase liens, according to the DA's release. The release says the vehicles were then used or sold by Salinas, Meharzi, or other associates, "charged and uncharged." Those are the grand jury's charges. Neither man has been tried.

Prosecutors describe predatory towing as drivers showing up at traffic accident scenes to solicit business, using false or deceptive statements to get permission to tow, and then charging exorbitant towing or storage fees, effectively holding the cars hostage until owners or insurers paid or gave up on them. The Denver Post reported that investigators say the group wrapped stolen cars in film, changed their colors, and added custom wheels to hide them, and that it targeted people behind on car payments by claiming to work with banks. The Post reported prosecutors allege the group routinely forged Division of Motor Vehicles documents to obtain titles and sold the cars to unsuspecting buyers.

"As the indictment alleges, this investigation uncovered a multi-year criminal enterprise that used stolen tow trucks to tow cars under false pretenses here in the Denver metro area," Walsh said. The investigation was led by the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority's Colorado Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force, with help from the Department of Revenue's Division of Motor Vehicles, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the DA's office said. CATPA Director Robert Force said the case took "thousands of hours of manpower and a one-year investigation." PUC Director Rebecca White said the agency's mission includes preventing fraud in the towing industry. FOX31 Denver also reported the indictment.

The DA's release does not list the other 10 defendants, their alleged roles, or a first court date. A grand jury hears the prosecution's side, and each defendant will get to contest the counts in Denver District Court. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.