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Three Michigan men face a slew of charges related to the violent kidnapping of a man at a Las Vegas hotel who allegedly owed gambling debts, according to reports.
Issa Hamade and Ahmad Harb, both 32, and Sobhi Sobh, 33, were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping, extortion, conspiracy, battery with intent to commit mayhem, robbery or grand larceny, and coercion with force or threats, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
During court proceedings in Clark County, Hamade was identified as a dentist from Dearborn, Michigan, while Harb works as a disc jockey and Sobh works as a physical therapist.
The trio allegedly lured Naved Azim, a New York resident, to a hotel room at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip, according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department report cited by the newspaper.
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An aerial view shows the Las Vegas Strip illuminated at night in Nevada on Feb. 23, 2019. (iStock)
Azim was then beaten, strangled, suffocated with a pillow, gagged, and stuffed in a closet. The men then demanded $185,000 from Azim’s father to cover gambling debts owed to Harb, police said. However, Harb subsequently told investigators that the amount owed to him was $325,000.
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.
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“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.
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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.
Digital 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.
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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.
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“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.
