WAYNE – The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has filed multiple criminal charges against two Arab American men accused of operating a chop shop in the city of Wayne to dismantle stolen vehicles and sell their parts.

The defendants, Mohamad El-Hadi, 41, of Canton Township, the owner of Hadi’s Cash for Cars, and Dani Mourad, 44, of Dearborn Heights, an employee of El-Hadi’s, appeared before the 29th District Court in Wayne. El-Hadi was charged with operating a chop shop and three counts of receiving and concealing stolen motor vehicles; is charged with one count of operating a chop shop, a 10-year felony, and three counts of stolen property — receiving and concealing a motor vehicle, each a five-year felony. Mourad was charged with one count of receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle.

The 29th District Court set El-Hadi’s bond at $25,000 and Mourad’s bond at $15,000, pending their next court appearance.

El-Hadi allegedly operated a chop shop where at least three vehicles reported stolen were discovered crushed in the company’s tow yard, a news release from Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office states.

Investigators say police found at least three stolen vehicles on El-Hadi’s property — a 2009 Kia Sorento, a 2013 Honda Odyssey and a 2017 Buick Encore — all of which were dismantled in the company’s yard.

The investigation and arrests were conducted by the Auto Fraud Theft Task Force, which Nessel established in February as part of expanded efforts to combat insurance fraud in response to rising vehicle theft rates.

“The Auto Fraud Task Force was created to tackle exactly this kind of alleged criminal activity,” Nessel said in a statement. “By embedding prosecutors directly within the Michigan State Police, we can continue dismantling auto theft and chop shop operations that threaten communities across our state.”

In January, Nessel expanded the department’s Auto Insurance Fraud Unit, transforming it into the Auto Fraud Task Force to reflect its broadened mission to combat both auto insurance fraud and large-scale criminal auto theft operations.

As part of its expansion, AFTF has partnered with the Michigan State Police Metro Detroit Auto-Theft Recovery Team, embedding a dedicated prosecutor within MSP MDART to pursue high-level auto theft rings operating in Metro Detroit.