Three men from Michigan are facing multiple criminal charges after authorities say they violently kidnapped a man inside a Las Vegas hotel over alleged gambling debts, according to reports.
Issa Hamade and Ahmad Harb, both 32, along with 33-year-old Sobhi Sobh, were taken into custody Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping, extortion, conspiracy, battery with intent to commit mayhem, robbery or grand larceny, and coercion involving force or threats, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
In Clark County court, Hamade was described as a dentist from Dearborn, Michigan. Harb was identified as a disc jockey, while Sobh was listed as a physical therapist.
Investigators allege the three men enticed Naved Azim, a New York resident, to a room at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip, according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department report cited by the newspaper.
An aerial view shows the Las Vegas Strip glowing at night in Nevada on Feb. 23, 2019. (iStock)
Police said Azim was attacked, strangled, smothered with a pillow, gagged and forced into a closet. The suspects then allegedly demanded $185,000 from Azim’s father to settle gambling debts they said were owed to Harb. Harb later told investigators the debt was actually $325,000, according to authorities.
A short video call was made to Azim’s father to show him his badly beaten son on his knees, the report states.
“Listen, your son scammed me of 185K in fake sports bets. I want my money, period,” the message said, according to police.
“The males began taking photos of Naved’s family and friends’ locations, contact information, and addresses,” police said. “The males stated that they would hurt his family and friends if Naved did not pay back what was owed.”
During Wednesday’s court hearing, Hamade’s attorney, Michael Troiano, said his client was an upstanding citizen and that Azim was involved in what he described in court as a fraudulent gambling scheme, the newspaper reported.
A casino in Las Vegas, Nev., on June 1, 2020. (Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg)
“My client had absolutely zero involvement whatsoever in the bets, the conspiracy, essentially any of the alleged facts other than he was supposedly in this hotel room,” Troiano said.
Sobh’s attorney, Ryan Helmick, said “there’s going to be a lot to uncover” regarding the facts of the case. A representative of the Clark County public defender’s office said Harb has no criminal record, the newspaper reported.
News Agency has reached out to the LVMPD, as well as the legal teams for Hamade and Sobh and the Clark County public defender’s office, for comment.
Three men have been charged in connection with the alleged kidnapping and beating of a man in a Las Vegas hotel room over gambling debts. (iStock)
Azim told authorities he made sports bets with a “promoter/bookie,” which led to him meeting Harb. At one point, Harb asked Azim to place a $2,300 bet on a New York Knicks basketball game, which eventually had a payout of $20,000.
Azim never placed the bet but told Harb that he did, he allegedly told police, according to the report.
“Naved did not tell Harb that the bet was never placed and decided to create a fake DraftKings sports betting ticket to reflect the bet,” police said.
A large neon casino and liquor sign lights up the Fremont Street promenade in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 12, 2016. (iStock)
Harb continued to place bets with Azim, who failed to make the wagers due to a lack of funds, police said. Harb continued to believe that he had tallied up to $100,000 in winning bets.
“Naved believed that Harb would eventually lose a bet which would help cover up his lie of placing the bets; however, that did not happen,” police said.
All three suspects were each granted $100,000 bail and ordered to have no contact with Azim.
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