The owner of a San Francisco tow truck company who is facing federal charges of fraud and money laundering has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit arson after allegedly orchestrating the torching of competitors’ tow trucks last year throughout the Bay Area, federal prosecutors announced.
Jose Vicente Badillo, 29, made his initial federal court appearance Thursday, following an indictment that was unsealed earlier in the day.
Prosecutors allege Badillo conspired to set fire to at least six tow trucks on four occasions between April and October 2023. The fires destroyed or damaged two trucks April 4 in San Francisco, one April 29 in San Francisco, one July 25 in East Palo Alto, and two Oct. 3 in San Francisco.
According to the indictment, Badillo allegedly directed others to torch the vehicles to boost business for his companies — Auto Towing and Specialty Towing — by crippling competitors and retaliating against them for perceived wrongs.
Badillo and his partner, Jessica Elizabeth Najarro, were arrested and charged in 2024 with conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud in connection with two schemes to defraud auto insurance companies. The FBI in August raided Badillo’s office on Oakdale Avenue.
Federal prosecutors said he and Najarro purchased a wrecked car, then cashed a $34,000 insurance check for it after falsely claiming they were in an accident.
In a second indictment that month, Badillo was accused of loading a vehicle carrier with four cars and purposefully driving them off the road in August 2019 in San Mateo County. After he reported the supposed accident to his insurance company, he and three co-conspirators made false or misleading statements to a company representative.
The insurance company denied Badillo’s claim as fraudulent but paid one of his towing companies $5,210 for recovering, towing, and storing the vehicles involved.
In February 2024, City Attorney David Chiu suspended Auto Towing and two other towing companies run by Badillo from doing business with the city. Chiu alleged that Auto Towing had illegally towed cars from a private commercial parking lot, limited the times vehicles could be retrieved, and pressured owners to pay in cash.
An employee who answered the phone for Auto Towing and Specialty Towing on Thursday claimed Badillo no longer owns either company. The employee, who declined to identify themself, said the companies have new owners but would not share their identities.
Badillo is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on the new charges March 20.
If convicted on the arson conspiracy charge, Badillo faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.