$3M in stolen cars may have been a scam.

[theDreamer]

Most of you probably know nothing about this story or may have seen a brief news report about it. However, its big news in the Canadian car community since the story first broke back in May.

In late 2023, OPP in Lambton County in southwestern Ontario launched an investigation after receiving a complaint of stolen vehicles with a combined value of approximately $3 million. It’s important to note that no number was released as to how many cars were stolen just that the total was estimated at $3M. This came about when an employee of Grogan Classics went to Service Ontario to change the registrations on some 100 vehicles from one Grogan Company to another.

OPP say their extensive investigation led to a search warrant being issued on May 14 at an address in Stirling, a rural community 25 kilometres north of Belleville and approximately 450 kilometres east of Lambton County. I live just 10 minutes south west of Stirling Ontario.

Investigators located several of the reported stolen vehicles, including some classic cars. Police also seized 16 vehicles from the two accused as proceeds of crime.

Robert Bradshaw, 54, and Gary Leblanc, 55, both of Stirling, Ont., were arrested and each charged with theft of motor vehicles over $5,000, fraud over $5,000, using forged documents and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. Leblanc was also charged with uttering threats.

However, here’s “the rest of the story” so far. Many of the stolen cars were owned by Grogan Classics of Watford Ontario. It’s believed that Robert Bradshaw had some arrangement for the buying, selling and/or storing of vehicles for Grogan Classics. Somehow a large number of cars changed hands supposedly without Grogan’s knowledge. Many of these cars were sold and legally registered to new owners between 2020 and 2024. Now, years later Grogan Classics claims they were stolen and wants them back. There is proof that a few owners notified Grogan of problems when trying to register their vehicles. In one case Grogan Classics couriered revised paperwork so the registration was correct for the new owner, or so they thought. In another case Grogan Classics bought back a vehicle with incorrect paperwork. So far many other cars have been seized by law enforcement including the one that Grogan supplied corrected paperwork for. Plus, in some cases these seized vehicles have already been returned to Grogan Classics. This seems to be in direct conflict with current laws that require the vehicles be impounded until such time that their status is verified. It also means those people whose cars were seized are out of pocket not just the original purchase price but also the thousands of dollars spent repairing, restoring or upgrading. Those affected are looking into their legal options.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a60898832/police-canada-recover-stolen-classic-cars/

https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/warmington-couple-left-stunned-after-legally-registered-car-seized

https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/warmington-classic-car-owner-latest-to-have-legally-registered-vehicle-seized

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2024/08/police-allege-larry-grogan-is-rightful.html?m=0&template=default

[theDreamer]

Update:

On the Victims of Classic Car theft ring Facebook page more people have come forward to say their cars have been seized. It has now spilled over into Quebec where numerous cars are known to have been sold. I believe at this time at least four families have been contacted by the Sûreté du Québec. Plus, it’s not just collector cars but daily drivers and RV’s too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/472241915546522

Also, the CBC aired a spot last week on both regional and national news programs which brought out some new information. You may view the segment on YouTube or on the CBC site. You should also read the text as there is some info in the video not in the text and vice versa.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ontario-classic-car-theft-ring-1.7336571