Contractor damaged homes to collect insurance payouts for storm damage: Charges
Judge gavel, scales of justice and law books in court. (Brian A. Jackson/Getty Images)
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis man is accused of damaging a home with his cell phone as part of a hail damage scheme aimed at increasing insurance payouts for storm damage repairs, authorities allege.
Jaser Zaabri, 36, is charged with first-degree criminal damage to property and five counts of insurance fraud in connection to the 2022 incidents at homes in Eden Prairie and Carver, Minnesota.
Several Eden Prairie homes damage
Zaabri is accused of damaging at least six homes in Hennepin, Carver and Scott counties in the summer of 2022 as part of a scheme to "fraudulently generate or increase payouts for ‘storm damage’ repairs" to be performed by the Edina-based contracting business he worked for, according to the criminal complaint. Zaabri was captured on video causing damage to an Eden Prairie home.
The Eden Praire Police Department began investigating the alleged scheme in August 2022, when a woman reported "intentional property damage" to her home, charges say. The homeowner told investigators a company representative knocked on her door on Aug. 10, 2022, to offer a free hail damage inspection for a storm that happened three months earlier. She agreed to the inspection, and a short time later, Zaabri and two other men went onto the roof and inspected the rest of the home.
The criminal complaint states Zaabri then showed the homeowner pictures of damaged shingles, window trim, gutters and the air conditioning unit.
The homeowner told police she then signed a contract with the company but canceled it the next day because of "a ‘funny feeling’ she had about the situation," according to the criminal complaint.
An adjuster from Liberty Mutual, which insures the home, visited the home on Aug. 13, 2022, and determined the damage was caused by vandalism, not hail, charges said. The adjuster also noted none of the damage was more than about 86 inches off the ground, and the damage to the home was estimated to be about $9,100.
The complaint notes Zaabri is about 5-foot-10, which would be consistent with him "causing the damage with a handheld object while standing on the ground."
Other neighbors in Eden Prairie told police Zaabri also evaluated their home and reported finding hail damage. Those neighbors reported signing a contract but canceling it after checking Zaabri's references and discovering none of them had any work done.
When the neighbors looked at Ring camera footage, they saw Zaabri "using what appears to be the corner of a cell phone to put dents into their garage doors, then chalking the dents as hail damage," charges said.
When the neighbors then contacted the company, the company then sent a $5,500 check to cover the damage Zaabri had caused, the complaint says.
Other homeowners impacted
The criminal complaint says authorities then found other homeowners who had similar interactions with Zaabri:
- A homeowner in Carver was shown supposed hail damage that was later found to cost about $4,372 in August 2022. Investigators also noted there was no damage past 87 inches off the ground and that a home across the street had no damage after that homeowner accompanied Zaabri during the inspection.
- Other homeowners in Carver also reported that Zaabri in August 2022 reported hail damage to the roof, gutters, siding, garage doors, window sashes and deck of their home. The observed damage was comparable to Zaabri's height, according to the complaint. Police say they also interviewed a former coworker of Zaabri, who said they witnessed Zaabri damage a window sash with the corner of his cell phone. That insurance claim later totaled to $21,657.
- A couple reported Zaabri arrived at their home in July 2022 for an inspection and told them there was damage to to various parts of the home. Again, the damage fit the height profile of Zaabri, according to the complaint. The company estimated this damage to cost about $86,369. The complaint notes Zaabri was involved in the insurance claim through at least the first half of September.
Zaabri's response
The criminal complaint states Zaabri denied causing the damage when police told him there was a video showing him striking one of the Eden Prairie homes. The complaint quotes Zaabri as saying "There's no damage created, it's a technique that — their home had damage already from the storm. I'm not gonna even go into this 'cause it's really petty."
Court records show Zaabri has his first appearance scheduled for the afternoon of Sept. 12.