Three Years After He Bought It, Police Took His 1934 Ford Coupe

Car sales fraud schemes seem to be everywhere these days and it’s enough to make anyone paying attention paranoid. One of the latest examples involves hundreds of classic cars which were allegedly stolen by a dealer’s business partner, then sold to unsuspecting people, only for police to show up and take them away unannounced.

Police claim the theft of a Hellcat is insurance fraud, but the owner has a different story.

Covering this massive story in Canada is CBC News, which focused specifically on one man who had his dream ride, a 1934 Ford Coupe, confiscated after he owned it for three years. The man sunk $40,000 into the classic, lovingly restoring what was his pride and joy.

Now all that is gone and with zero compensation. There was nothing shady about what this man did: he got all the proper paperwork, legally registered the Ford, and has kept everything above board. That’s why he was shocked to learn the vehicle is allegedly stolen property.

In fact, the man says when police knocked on his door to take away the classic car, they threatened him with possession of stolen property charges. That’s outrageous considering he was just as much of a victim as anyone in the situation, maybe even the most victimized.

Police have been going around confiscating dozens of classic cars the one dealer claims his business partner stole over a four year period, then sold to unsuspecting buyers. That’s of course left a trail of disappointment, heartbreak, and resentment.

In the meantime, when a CBC reporter tried speaking with the parties connected to the theft allegations, things seemed to get weird. The case is in court right now, so hopefully the truth comes to light and some relief is rendered to all the people who had their classic cars taken away without compensation.

There are things you can do to prevent becoming a victim of a classic car selling scam. But cases like these show that even if you cross all the Ts and dot all the Is you might still get burned, a sobering thought for anyone in the hobby.

Image via CBC News/YouTube

Follow The Auto Wire on Google News.