OGDEN — Three men are accused of kidnapping and beating up their financial adviser after their investment went sour.

Arshad "Alex" Mohammad Amin, 35, David Aimal Kashifi, 38, and Yama Kashifi, 37, appeared in 2nd District Court on Wednesday after bailing out of the Weber County Jail. The men have been charged with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, stemming from an Oct. 11 confrontation at a South Ogden loan business.

The three men flew to Utah from California to confront the owner of Advanced Financial and Loan, Charles Brandon Barber, according to police documents. They each had invested $100,000 and lost it all — with no explanation from Barber of where the money went.

When they arrived at the business, they confronted Barber and Jeremy Newson in the parking lot.

"Charles was pulled out of his vehicle, and he and Jeremy were asked where the office was," investigators wrote. "Charles showed them where the office was, and David, Yama and Alex forced them to the door, which was locked. Alex told Charles to open the door and then punched the door with his fist."

Once inside, police said the three locked the business doors, forced Barber and Newson into the back and demanded their money back or someone would be killed or paralyzed.

"Alex forced Jeremy into his chair behind his desk and punched him in the face, then ordering him to log into his bank account. Alex then grabbed a pen that he was holding similar to a knife, stating that he was going to kill Charles," police wrote. "Yama intervened and told Alex to wait until they saw their money. Charles accessed his account and showed Alex that he had no money in the account."

The three men said they weren't going back to California empty handed, police said. They searched the men, taking their cell phones and demanding to know if they were wearing a wire, investigators wrote in the affidavit. Barber was able to dial 911 and drop his phone on the ground. Emergency dispatchers recorded the rest of the confrontation on tape.

Amin threw a chair across the room and found two screwdrivers, telling Barber he was prepared to spend the rest of his life in jail, charging documents said.

"One of the other males stated that his father had died over this, and he had no reason to live, and that someone was going to die," police wrote. "Alex then told Charles and Jeremy that they were going to die and everyone associated with them was going to die. Alex held the screwdriver to Charles' neck and told him he was going to die."

By that time, police arrived outside the building. Amin, police wrote, tried to wipe fingerprints off the screwdrivers and told the others to "act cool." As officers entered the building, Amin unlocked the doors and the men sat on the couch and said they "just wanted their money and everything would be OK."

The three men will appear again in court on Nov. 6, clerks said.

"Let's give the legal system the opportunity to work," Greg Smith, Yama Kashifi's attorney, said outside court Wednesday, declining to comment further on the case.

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