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. ||||| SALT LAKE CITY — A Holladay man has been charged with purposely getting into 22 fender-bender crashes over the course of nearly six years in order to obtain insurance money. 
 
 Navid Monjazeb, 35, collected nearly $56,000 in insurance payments for the small crashes he intentionally caused between 2010 and 2015, causing "a significant danger to the public," charging documents allege. 
 
 Monjazeb was charged in 3rd District Court Tuesday with carrying on a pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony; 12 counts of making a false or fraudulent insurance claim, a third-degree felony; and two counts of forgery, a third-degree felony. He also faces seven counts of reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor. 
 
 It isn't clear from court documents precisely where Monjazeb allegedly caused the crashes, though investigators say they occurred "mostly within a 10-square-mile radius of the Salt Lake Valley." 
 
 "Many take place in the exact same locations," the charges state. 
 
 All of the crashes were similar in nature, according to police. Monjazeb is accused of alternating between three vehicles in the incidents: a Toyota Prius, an Audi A4 and a Saab 9-3. 
 
 "The victims indicate that they were moving in the same direction as the defendant, typically they are changing lanes, when suddenly the defendant's vehicle comes into contact with theirs. … Most victims (said Monjazeb) was not near them and then suddenly he would move his vehicle forward as they attempted to change lanes, resulting in the accident," charging documents state. 
 
 After the collisions, Monjazeb allegedly accused the other drivers of being at fault for the crash and tried to intimidate them into paying him in cash rather than getting police involved. 
 
 "The defendant would also intimidate the victims into signing statements he prepared asserting that they were at fault. When police were called, the victim was placed at fault based on the assertions of the defendant," according to the charges. 
 
 The rear quarter panel of the victims' vehicles, as well as Monjazeb's front fenders, were damaged in most of the wrecks. Investigators say most of the victims paid for their own minor repairs. "However, the defendant's vehicle when submitted for inspection by the insurance company typically had thousands of dollars of damage. The damage was far in excess of what witnesses reported seeing at the time of the accident," the charges state. 
 
 Monjazeb is accused of requesting insurance payments for the same damage multiple times, denying there was prior damage or providing "false documentation showing that the damage had been repaired between accidents," the charges state. 
 
 Monjazeb allegedly made insurance claims earning him between about $1,200 and $4,500 per incident, totaling nearly $56,000 from insurance companies alone, according to investigators. The charges don't indicate whether any of the alleged victims paid him cash. 
 
 "It was determined that this repeating pattern … was (Monjazeb's) method of executing his fraud," the charges state. "(He) would intentionally collide with vehicles or place his vehicle in a position where the accident was a complete certainty." 
 
 Six different law enforcement agencies have been involved in the investigation. 
 
 Monjazeb's criminal history in Utah is limited mostly to fines for misdemeanor traffic violations — including for a right of way offense and driving on a denied license charge since his alleged fraud began. 
 
 A warrant for his arrest was issued Tuesday. 
 
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 1 Pending Comments ||||| SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Utah) - Authorities say Navid Monjazeb targeted unsuspecting drivers to collect insurance money. 
 
 Monjazeb was arrested Wednesday after being 22 counts related to insurance fraud. 
 
 Investigators with the state's Insurance Fraud Division said they've been investigating Monjazeb's habits for the past six months. 
 
 
 
 "He's an opportunistic person, looking for opportunities to crash his vehicle into others or to position his vehicle in such a manner that he puts himself in a blind spot," said Armand Glick, director of the fraud division. 
 
 
 
 Glick said after the accident he would convince the driver it was their fault and eventually file an insurance claim. 
 
 
 
 "All of a sudden, bam," said one of his victims who did not want her identity revealed. "I get hit in the back of my car and was so amazed. 
 
 
 
 She said her accident happened on the off-ramp at Interstate-15 and 4500 South in Murray. That's when she came face to face with Monjazeb. 
 
 
 
 "He got out screaming that I had hit him and caused this huge accident," she said. "You just assume that it's your fault because you're the one changing lanes." 
 
 
 
 She said her son noticed Monjazeb behind them and stayed on her blind side. When she turned onto 4500 South she said she started switching lanes and that's when they collided. 
 
 
 
 Glick had numerous pictures of vehicles Monjazeb allegedly hit. 
 
 In one of those pictures was a vehicle with a few scratches on its side. 
 
 But he also had a picture of Monzaeb's vehicle from that same crash. The front end passenger side had extensive damage. 
 
 "When the appraiser looked at Navid's vehicle this is the damage he alleged was caused by the accident," said Glick. "He's claiming that there's extensive damage to the drive train and to all of this area here." 
 
 
 
 Authorities said Monjazeb would file claims and get checks for $1,200 $4,500, in the case of the one victim nearly $2900. 
 
 "What he would do is get the insurance money to fix his car and then he would cash the check and he would reuse the same car," the woman said. 
 
 Glick said Monjazeb used three vehicles for his alleged scam and would rig the vehicles so they'd fall apart when hit. 
 
 
 
 The woman involved in one of those accidents with Monjazeb said she's still paying the price for the 2013 accident with him. 
 
 "My rates went up and I had to pay to fix my own car because I only had liability on it," she said. 
 
 
 
 Glick said Monjazeb collected more than $55,000 from insurance companies over the past five years. He said there may be many other unaccounted victims who did not file an insurance claim. 
 
 He said is some cases Monjazeb demanded cash from the other driver and went on his way. 
 
 If drivers suspect they were a victim of this scam, they should contact the Insurance Fraud Division. A complaint can be filed from their website http://ifd.utah.gov 
 

– A Utah man is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly getting into nearly two dozen car accidents on purpose in order to collect the insurance money, KSL reports. Navid Monjazeb is accused of causing 22 crashes in and around Salt Lake City between 2010 and 2015, collecting $56,000 in insurance money in the process. "He's an opportunistic person, looking for opportunities to crash his vehicle into others or to position his vehicle in such a manner that he puts himself in a blind spot," ABC4 Utah quotes the director of the state's fraud division. According to the AP, the state launched a six-month investigation into Monjazeb after an insurance company noticed a pattern. On Tuesday, he was charged with 12 counts of insurance fraud and declared "a significant danger to the public," KSL reports. After causing a crash, authorities say Monjazeb would try to intimidate his victims into paying him cash for the damage or signing a pre-written statement saying they were at fault, KSL reports. "He got out screaming that I had hit him and caused this huge accident," one victim tells ABC4. "You just assume that it's your fault because you're the one changing lanes." KSL reports it's unclear if Monjazeb ever got cash from his victims. And the AP notes he's only been charged in cases where investigators believe his car was damaged prior to the crash. According to ABC4, authorities say Monjazeb "would rig [his] vehicles so they'd fall apart when hit." He also allegedly damaged his car further following accidents to increase the insurance payout, KSL reports. He's facing charges of reckless endangerment in addition to insurance fraud.