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Three California men are accused of beating up their stockbroker in Ogden, all over a lost investment. According to a probable-cause statement, police caught the men because the victim called 911 and then dropped his cell phone, which recorded the entire altercation.
Watching the value of your investments plummet day after day can be pretty upsetting. Arshad Mohammad Amin, 35, David Aimal Kashifi, 38, and Yama Kashifi, 37, were determined to get their lost money back. Ogden City Police Chief Val Shupe said, "Apparently, upset enough that they would come from California, rent a car and drive up to the business."
According to a probable cause document, each invested $100,000 with Charles Barber, the owner of Advanced Financial and Loan on 837 E. 5600 South, Suite 2. Apparently, they all lost their money and received no explanation from Barber as to where it went.
Saturday afternoon, they drove from the airport to the investment firm and found Barber in the parking lot with Jeremy Newson. The three ordered the victims inside, locked the door and demanded their money. Shupe said, "At that time that they weren't going to leave without their money, they actually had aggravating threats they made."
The affidavit said Alex wasn't letting anyone leave until he got his money, saying that he didn't care if he spent the rest of his life in prison and would kill him or paralyze him.
Police said Alex punched Newson, then held a pen like a knife, threatening to kill Barber. The suspects then searched the victims, asking for their cell phones. That's when Barber dialed 911 and dropped his phone on the floor. Shupe said, "Dispatch was able to hear what was going on, which was quite a commotion. They traced the 911 to the owner of the phone, then to the business, and then sent officers to the scene. After some questioning, police arrested all three suspects. The men were released on bail Tuesday afternoon
We asked the Weber County District Attorney for the 911 tapes, but no one returned our calls. Neither of the victims were available for comment.
The three men are charged with aggravated kidnapping and have a court date set for Nov. 6.
E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
