They owned their cars for years. Now Ontario police say they're stolen property
They owned their cars for years. Now Ontario police say they're stolen property
The Evoys aren't the only former classic-car owners left searching for answers. Dozens have been caught up in a sprawling OPP investigation involving more than 200 vintage vehicles.
It was sparked by a December 2023 complaint from Larry Grogan, a Watford, Ont., dealer, who accused his business partner of stealing them. The man is alleged to have transferred the titles into his own name, over a 4.5-year period, at Service Ontario outlets via forged documents, with many of the vehicles then sold on to unsuspecting customers.
In late May, the OPP charged two Stirling, Ont., men — Robert Bradshaw (the former business partner) and Gary Leblanc — with theft, fraud and forgery. Investigators have been busy ever since, repossessing vehicles from people's garages and driveways.
Maria Cruciano and her husband Jim White bought a 1957 Chevrolet from Robert Bradshaw in February 2023. After storing it and making repairs over the winter, they went to register the car in early June, only to discover it was now listed as belonging to Grogan Classics.
White called Grogan, who explained that there had been an error. Grogan offered to sign over the ownership slip and courier it to Bradshaw. White picked it up the next day and registered the car in his name. (Cruciano and White provided CBC News with a copy of the signed slip and phone records documenting the call to Grogan's dealership.)
Yet the Chevy was still declared stolen six months later. The OPP seized and returned the car to Grogan in July.
"[Grogan] absolutely knew our car had been sold," said Cruciano. "We spoke with him. He signed the ownership. He couriered it to Bradshaw.
"And you know what the man didn't say to us? 'Holy hell, that car was stolen! That guy can't sell my car!'"
This is insane. How is it not fraud to report a car as stolen after signing the documents personally?
Ultimately, the police are compounding mistakes made by Grogan, who apparently trusted his business partner so much that it took him more than four years to actually check the books and report anything stolen. Since the cars were goods for sale and not of any sentimental value to him, and he doesn't need the money or he would have kept a closer eye on the business, the moral thing for him to do would be to leave the vehicles in the hands of their new owners and go after his former business partner for the money he effectively embezzled from the sales. That might not be legally feasible, though.
After reading that I'm still really confused who these cars were stolen from. From the sounds of things, the current owners are losing their newly bought vehicles only for them to get put back on a dealer lot, which is just insane.
Surely by now the original owners have already claimed insurance on their stolen vehicles? The police repossessing them from legal purchasers who were unaware just seems like it's making the whole situation worse.
The original owner was the car dealership that's now selling them. So officially, they were stolen from the dealer, but it really sounds like they were stolen by the dealer from their own customers
I'm kind of surprised that title insurance isn't a thing for classic cars tbh.
It was sparked by a December 2023 complaint from Larry Grogan, a Watford, Ont., dealer, who accused his business partner of stealing them. The man is alleged to have transferred the titles into his own name, over a 4.5-year period, at Service Ontario outlets via forged documents, with many of the vehicles then sold on to unsuspecting customers.