Two employees at a Toronto car dealership were caught and will face 176 charges after police uncovered their scheme to use their position to buy and sell stolen cars.
Harris Bocknek, 35, and Fadi Zeto, 32, were charged with 22 fraudulent car sales while posing as legitimate vehicle sellers, the Toronto Police Service said in a news release Wednesday.
The two suspects purchased cars from numbered companies, some of which they owned, using funds that came from the car dealership.
“The defendants would then create fictitious sales contracts using ‘clean’ vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and alter Carfax reports to match the fraudulent vehicle information, thereby giving buyers the impression of “a legitimate purchase,” police said.
The stolen car was then delivered to the buyer.
“Unbeknownst to the buyer, the vehicle identification number he received did not match the vehicle he purchased from the accused. Some of the vehicles sold were falsely registered in the name of people who did not appear on the sales documents,” it was specified.
Eight search warrants were carried out during the week of October 21 in residences, commercial garages and vehicles. Investigators then recovered two vehicles suspected of having been stolen, but also documents and devices which enabled the fraudulent activities.
In total, this scheme allegedly resulted in criminal activities worth nearly $2.1 million.
Police took the opportunity to reiterate the importance of requesting vehicle history reports when purchasing a used car.
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