A San Francisco tow truck company that went viral last year for trying to tow an occupied car stuck in traffic now faces criminal charges for allegedly torching the vehicles of rival companies.
A federal indictment alleges that Specialty Towing and Auto Towing launched a campaign of destruction against rival companies. The federal indictment names Jose Badillo as being "associated" with both companies and references four unnamed co-conspirators. The indictment charges Badillo with one count of conspiracy to commit arson.
"The purpose of the conspiracy was, among other things, to retaliate against competitor towing companies for perceived wrongs and to drive more business to Auto Towing and Specialty Towing by impeding their competitors' business prospects," the indictment states.
According to the indictment, Badillo instructed others to "damage and destroy the tow truck" through the use of "fire and explosives." The indictment cites four incidents:
- April 4, 2023: two tow trucks in San Francisco, California
- April 29, 2023: one tow truck in San Francisco, California
- July 25, 2023: one tow truck in East Palo Alto, California
- October 3, 2023: two tow trucks in San Francisco, California
Specialty Towing came to national prominence in April 2024 when video circulated showing one of their trucks attempting to tow an occupied vehicle stuck in traffic. In the video, the truck lowers its towing arm mechanism and begins backing up toward the vehicle behind it.
Passerby and the passenger in the car begin yelling at the tow truck driver, but he continues to attempt to snag the car. Finally, the car is able to flee by driving around the truck.
In February 2024, City Attorney David Chiu prohibited Auto Towing from bidding on or receiving city contracts. Chiu stated that Auto Towing had been illegally towing cars of vulnerable individuals from a private commercial parking lot, limiting the times vehicles could be retrieved, and pressuring vehicle owners to pay in cash.
"Auto Towing intentionally misled and scammed people out of hundreds of dollars by illegally towing cars and making them hard to retrieve," Chiu said at the time. In the press release, Chiu also referenced allegations of welfare fraud against Badillo and his partner in three towing companies, Abigail Fuentes.
"Now we also know that they took advantage of the public and defrauded our safety net programs. Fuentes and Badillo have demonstrated a clear pattern of predatory behavior designed to enrich themselves at the expense of the most vulnerable among us," Chiu stated.
According to Chiu the pair 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.
Badillo also has been named in two other federal indictments.
Badillo and Jessica Elizabeth Najarro face mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering charges related to a an alleged scheme to defraud an auto insurance company, federal prosecutors allege.
Badillo and several defendants are also named in a third federal indictment related to an alleged insurance scam. In that case, federal prosecutors allege that Badillo and his co-defendants "loaded a vehicle carrier with four vehicles (several of which were inoperable or had pre-existing damage) and purposefully drove them off the road on Guadalupe Canyon Parkway in San Mateo County in August 2019."
