Utah star of Matts Off-Road Recovery on YouTube charged with insurance fraud

Wetzel stated he never turned in a job claim that did not have a “legitimate service” tied to it, according to court documents. The owner of the RZR told an investigator that he used his friend’s AAA membership to cover the cost of the recovery, court documents said. The claim filed with AAA said Winder Towing rescued the friend’s truck, instead of the RZR, the documents said. One claim examined by investigators involved a Polaris RZR off-road vehicle towed from Sand Hollow State Park in April 2020.

Two Utah counties have lots of housing being built, but they probably aren’t in most people’s budget

  • He has also made appearances on other fabrication and heavy equipment channels such as Robby Layton, Hunter Goodrich, and HeavyDSparks.
  • One claim examined by investigators involved a Polaris RZR off-road vehicle towed from Sand Hollow State Park in April 2020.
  • Similar to the heavy wrecker, while Matt pushes it to its limits on jobs, the Bombi isn’t finished yet.
  • Matt met Jaymie when she was a teller at the bank Matt had his accounts with.

Until late July 2023, Lizzy was an employee and star of Matt’s Off Road Recovery. Lizzy is currently 24 years old and stands at 5’4″. Her pastimes include rodeo competitions, swing dancing, and volleyball. The Banana is a 2001 Jeep Cherokee XJ which Matt owns and drives for Matt’s Off Road Recovery. mike’s off road recovery Matt has been driving the Banana since before he even thought about YouTube. The Banana has been through countless upgrades, including a full overhaul, which is shown in detail in Matt’s playlist for “Banana Build.” Tom Tom is a former full time employee and star of Matt’s Off Road Recovery.

Former Employees

Jefe (Jeff) is an employee of Matt’s Off Road Recovery and a member of the crew. He is also one of Matt’s nephews, and a 16-year service veteran of the US armed forces. Tom earned his master’s degree in physics, and then another degree in nuclear engineering. Following his education, Tom worked at the Idaho National Laboratory for 16 years as an engineer. He started designing components in hot cells, and then went on to participate in large research projects, on topics such as radiation and ATR. After that, he went into equipment installation as a project manager.

  • Matt has described Jaymie as a fantastic, can-do business partner, who never takes business issues personally and is the glue that holds everything together.
  • No doubt her welding skills will be of advantage to her in the future.
  • This way the body does not go through sudden withdrawal nor experience harsh side effects.
  • Around October of 2022, Skeeter moved on to a job in the Texas oilfields.
  • He pitched in to help with fabrication and welding, as well as recovery work.

Matthew Wetzel, 45, runs a towing service and a YouTube channel that has nearly 900,000 subscribers.

When something gets done behind the scenes, Jefe likely has something to do with it. He is responsible for accounts, budget, websites, crew organization and rosters, human resources, marketing, and asset/property management. In addition, Jefe is Matt’s second-in-command and a member of the B-team along with Matt’s son Rhett.

mike's off road recovery

PREPARE YOUR TRUCK FOR WORK OR PLAY WITH OFF ROAD ACCESSORIES

But more recently, Matt had a section of the shop built into an apartment for Ed. Ed is currently 85 years old, and his hobbies range from skydiving to prospecting for gold on his claim in California. Matt met Katelynn and her dad through the rock bouncing competitions that they participate in. Tucker can currently be found with Trevor on the channel MisAdventure Lab. Jaymie is Matt’s wife, an employee of Matt’s Off Road Recovery, and a member of the crew. Matt met Jaymie when she was a teller at the bank Matt had his accounts with.

Matt and Tom grew up together, and Matt says that he has been using Tom as a sounding board for his ideas since 1995. Tom is a nuclear engineer, expert welder, and well-rounded fabricator. Tucker is a former employee and member of the Matt’s Off Recovery crew. He was hired as the channel’s first dedicated video editor in 2021 to take some of the load off of Jefe and the rest of the crew. He was also well known for his muscle, and ability to pick up the front of a side-by-side by himself.

What Happened To Ed On Matt’S Off Road Recovery

  • The Banana has been through countless upgrades, including a full overhaul, which is shown in detail in Matt’s playlist for “Banana Build.”
  • He is also one of Matt’s nephews, and a 16-year service veteran of the US armed forces.
  • Now that he is doing what he wants, he can choose when to work on his projects, and he doesn’t have to worry about his dad’s deadlines or jobs.
  • In a video of the tow posted to Wetzel’s YouTube channel, he was seen hauling the vehicle, court documents said — noting that AAA’s policy does not cover off-road vehicle tows.

Consequently, the crew calls him Jefe – which means “boss” in Spanish. Jefe always creates a well-rounded plan before executing on it, and works very methodically, in contrast to Matt’s more impetuous approach.

mike's off road recovery

He worked in conventional towing for 10 years before starting his YouTube channel. He has also competed in demolition derby with the team name “Junky”. Before moving to Utah to work for Matt, Tom lived in Idaho and would only see Matt occasionally. He has had a hand in building all three of Matt’s primary recovery rigs – https://ecosoberhouse.com/ the Banana, Morrvair, and Heavy Wrecker – as well as the Golden Nugget. Tom worked with Matt in setting up his YouTube channel, and he also helped Matt recover the Golden Nugget off Ed’s gold claim in California. Rudy decided to leave Matt’s Off Road Recovery because recovering stuck vehicles wasn’t really his passion.