---
title: "Utah Man Headed to Jail for Causing 22 Car Crashes in 5 Years for the Insurance Money"
description: "That's one way to make a living."
date: "2017-12-22"
modified: "2017-12-22"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/17170/utah-man-headed-to-jail-for-causing-22-car-crashes-in-5-years-for-the-insurance-money"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Car Crash"
  - "Crime"
  - "fraud"
  - "insurance"
  - "Utah"
---

# Utah Man Headed to Jail for Causing 22 Car Crashes in 5 Years for the Insurance Money

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*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

A Utah man has been sentenced to four months in jail after being convicted of intentionally causing 22 [car crashes](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/17145/more-new-vehicles-equipped-with-crash-avoidance-technology>) over the last five years in order to collect the insurance payouts, [*The Salt Lake Tribune* reports.](<https://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/12/19/four-months-of-jail-for-utah-man-accused-of-causing-22-car-crashes-in-five-years-for-insurance-payouts/>)

According to court records, thirty-seven-year-old Navid Monjazeb received just under $56,000 over the last five years through a systematic campaign of crashing into innocent drivers, then bullying them into accepting responsibility for the accident and sometimes demanding cash on the spot. He even carried around a pre-made waiver that he would "aggressively" push the other driver to sign, which stated that they were at fault.

Monjazeb would reportedly accelerate into other cars on the highway as they merged into his lane, striking the rear quarter panel with his front fender. After pressuring the other driver into accepting responsibility, he would then submit damage claims to his [insurance company](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/12534/just-how-expensive-is-teen-car-insurance-in-your-state>) for thousands of dollars, and the photos he submitted as proof often showed far more damage to his car than his victims remembered.

On top of that, [the *Tribune* reports](<https://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/12/19/four-months-of-jail-for-utah-man-accused-of-causing-22-car-crashes-in-five-years-for-insurance-payouts/>) he repeatedly forged documents claiming his car had been repaired, then submitted different photos of the same damage for more money. He cycled through three cars over those five years, using a Saab 9-3, an Audi A4, and a [Toyota Prius](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/15688/this-1000-hp-hellcat-powered-toyota-prius-is-political-incorrectness-incarnate>) in his scheme.

No one was injured in any of the accidents, but Third District Judge William Kendall said Monjazeb's actions posed a real danger to the public as he sentenced him to 360 days in jail, with 240 of those suspended. For his part, Monjazeb maintains that not every accident was his fault.

"I know I didn’t do everything right here," he said, [according to the *Tribune.*](<https://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/12/19/four-months-of-jail-for-utah-man-accused-of-causing-22-car-crashes-in-five-years-for-insurance-payouts/>) "But I think it’s unfair to take the blame for what everybody has done."

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)