California Tow Truck Driver Arraigned on 54 Counts of Insurance Fraud, Assault

Eliu Canales, 43, was arraigned this week on 54 felony counts of insurance fraud, assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving after a joint investigation by the California Department of Insurance and San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office found he allegedly staged collisions with unsuspecting drivers in order to collect more than $35,000 in payouts from insurance companies.

The joint investigation revealed that between 2017 and 2022 while working for AAA as a lead tow truck driver who taught defensive driving, Canales orchestrated roughly 22 vehicle collisions with unsuspecting drivers.

Canales would reportedly hide in the blind spots of other drivers and as those drivers attempted to change lanes, he would accelerate and sometimes turn into the other vehicles to cause the collisions.

He would then immediately file insurance claims against the other driver’s insurer. Canales claimed more than $86,000 in damage and was paid out $35,000-plus from insurance companies.

He allegedly used audio and video recording devices to document the collisions, many of which were at the same locations, and then uploaded the recordings on his YouTube channel to highlight “bad drivers” in the area. Most of the videos were removed from his YouTube channel.

Canales was arrested on March 14 and was arraigned March 15. He appeared in court this week for further arraignment and is scheduled to return to court on March 29.

The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

Topics California Auto Fraud Personal Auto