Three men from Michigan were arrested Wednesday at a Las Vegas hotel on charges connected to the violent kidnapping of a man they allegedly lured to a room at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip.
Issa Hamade and Ahmad Harb, both 32, and Sobhi Sobh, 33, face charges including first-degree kidnapping, extortion, conspiracy, battery with intent to commit mayhem, robbery or grand larceny, and coercion with force or threats. The arrests were reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
During court proceedings in Clark County, Hamade was identified as a dentist from Dearborn, Michigan. Harb works as a disc jockey and Sobh works as a physical therapist.
The three men allegedly lured Naved Azim, a New York resident, to the hotel room. According to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department report cited by the newspaper, Azim was 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. Harb later told investigators the actual amount owed was $325,000.
A short video call was made to show Azim's father his son badly beaten and on his knees. A message delivered during the incident, according to police, stated: "Listen, your son scammed me of 185K in fake sports bets. I want my money, period."
Police said the men also gathered personal information on Azim's family and friends. "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."
Azim told authorities he had been placing sports bets through a promoter or bookie, which led him to Harb. At one point, Harb asked Azim to place a $2,300 bet on a New York Knicks basketball game that was set to pay out $20,000. Azim never placed the bet but told Harb he had, according to the police report.
Hamade's attorney, Michael Troiano, said in court that his client had no involvement in the alleged acts and that Azim was part of a fraudulent gambling scheme. "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 from the Clark County public defender's office said Harb has no prior criminal record.
Fox News Digital reported it reached out to the LVMPD and legal representatives for all three defendants for comment.
