FBI agents raid San Francisco towing company
A towing company in San Francisco's Hunters Point was the subject of an FBI raid that took place Thursday morning.
The agency confirmed to CBS News Bay Area that it was conducting what it called "court-authorized law enforcement activity" at Specialty Towing on the 2000 block of Oakdale Avenue, near Interstate Highway 280.
Around 6 a.m., Annette Scott and her husband, who live nearby, were woken up by what sounded like fireworks.
"The FBI people were parked across the street with their Army trucks and their Army helmets and they're uniforms on and their guns drawn. And these loud noises with these loud things going boom! Boom!," Scott said.
CBS News Bay Area cameras captured several FBI and IRS agents surrounding Specialty Towing. The FBI confiscated items and took pictures.
Agents were also seen searching a specialty towing truck not far from the scene.
Maria Vasquez, another neighbor, said she saw the FBI move in and appear to detain someone.
"When they arrested him, she also saw the officers carrying out what looked like a duffle bag," Vasquez said through a translator.
The Internal Revenue Service also confirmed to CBS News Bay Area that they were at the scene.
"IRS CI special agents were there on official business, and we have no further details at this time," the agency said Thursday afternoon.
San Francisco police confirmed that their agency responded to assist a federal agency in serving a search warrant.
In an updated statement Thursday afternoon, the FBI said they also searched locations on the 800 block of Franklin Street and 1700 Lane Street in San Francisco.
"These actions were related to an ongoing federal investigation," said an agency spokesperson.
Specialty Towing has several locations across the Bay Area. The tow yard on Oakdale was previously linked to an investigation by City Attorney David Chiu's office into illegal towing.
According to the city attorney, a company called Auto Towing towed several cars from the parking lot of a Bank of the West branch in the Portola neighborhood between February and May 2023. Chiu said the company did not receive permission of the property owner.
Documents alleged Auto Towing had towed vehicles to the lot of Specialty Towing on 2045 Oakdale Avenue instead of its permitted operating location at 1229 Underwood Avenue, which made it more difficult for the vehicle owners to retrieve their cars, Chiu said.
The city attorney said the victims were primarily Spanish-speaking and Cantonese-speaking residents, which he said are vulnerable to predatory tows.
Last month, the city banned Auto Towing from receiving city contracts for five years, saying the company engaged in "predatory behavior" along with "unfair business practices."
Chiu had suspended the company in February after the owners were charged in a welfare fraud scheme.
Also on Thursday, Auto Tow owners Jose Vicente Badillo and Jessica Elizabeth Najarro were arrested and appeared in federal court on mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering charges. The pair were charged in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud an insurance company.
Badillo and Najarro were released on $50,000 bond and are scheduled to appear in court on Monday for arraignment.
Neighbors said the towing company has not been a good neighbor.
"They have no respect for the neighbors. Everybody on the other block, everybody is complaining about whatever they're doing. We don't know," Scott said.
Employees at Specialty Towing declined to comment about the raid.
Kara St. Cyr contributed reporting.
