A tow truck driver in San Francisco attempted to drag a car away while the driver was still inside.
The bright yellow tow truck, with the name ‘Specialty Towing’ plastered across it in lime green, was captured on video trying to snatch a silver Toyota sedan before the vehicles sped away.
In February, Specialty Towing was suspended by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu after the owners, Abigail Fuentes and Jose Badillo, were found to be claiming government handouts and scamming customers.
The owners, described by the city attorney’s office as a couple with ‘a personal relationship’ and ‘multiple kids’, pocketed around $2million from their scams and used the money to buy a Lamborghini, documents said.
Chiu suspended a total of three towing companies in the area – Auto Towing, Jose’s Towing, and Specialty Towing and Recovery, all of which were operated by Abigail and Jose.
‘Auto Towing intentionally misled and scammed people out of hundreds of dollars by illegally towing cars and making them hard to retrieve,’ Chiu said.
Video of the recent encounter shows the Toyota slowing going backwards while the tow truck attempts to latch onto the bottom front of the car.
As the truck continues to back up, the sedan does the same, as the two drivers go back and forth before the person recording screams: ‘What the f*** are you doing?’
The tow truck driver then backs up again as the silver car manages to break free, pulls to the right and speeds away.
The tow truck quickly follows behind and the two vehicles drive away through the intersection as the video ends.
It is unclear exactly when or where this happened, but a user on X posted the video on Tuesday.
The caption read: ‘Specialty Towing trying to grab an occupied car from the travel lane on Bush St in San Francisco. WTF??’
DailyMail.com contacted Specialty Towing for comment.
Juan Fuentes, the CEO of Auto Towing was also suspended along with Abigail and Jose, according to the legal complaint.
The city attorney said that the company illegally towed cars, limited times that vehicles could be picked up, and ‘pressured’ car owners to pay in cash.
The company was also accused of illegally towing cars from a private bank parking lot in Portola without permission from the property owner.
‘It is unlawful for a tow company to tow a car from a private property without the consent of the property owner,’ Chiu said.
The city cited that under the California Vehicle Code, owners have the right to pick up their vehicles all year round, at any time, and can pay for it in cash or by credit card.
‘The victims whose cars were towed were primarily Spanish- and Cantonese-speaking residents, who are especially vulnerable to predatory tows,’ he added.
It was found that Jose purchased a home in Bayview for $1.2million, another home in Excelsior for $815,000, and his $280,000 luxury sports car, according to court documents.
The city attorney’s office said that in October 2023, Abigail and Jose were charged with multiple felonies after they were found to be caught up in an ‘alleged welfare fraud scheme.’
‘For a period of time, Fuentes worked as a Human Services Agency Senior Eligibility Worker, where she approved applications for public welfare programs,’ Chiu said.
The city attorney’s office said that Abigail ‘improperly approved’ her partner’s application and did not mention that they shared a personal relationship.
‘Further, both Fuentes and Badillo allegedly lied about their substantial income and assets in order to receive public benefits they were not eligible for.’
‘Fuentes and Badillo both received benefits under Medi-Cal, and Fuentes received additional benefits from CalFresh and CalWORKs,’ the city attorney’s office wrote.
In March, Auto Towing submitted a request for the city to provide them with clearance to provide ‘as-needed towing services and roadside assistance’ for city-owned vehicles.
The towing company was not granted access, according to the San Francisco City Attorney’s office.
Credit: Source link
