Roger Major, of Alexandria, purchased this 1972 Chevy pickup and watched helplessly as it was hauled away. Police told him that the truck had been stolen and that he bought it from thieves.
Police foil a 16-vintage vehicle heist
Farmer unwittingly buys stolen truck and now has no truck and no money back
Farmers Forum staff
STIRLING — Last May, in a rural shed north of Belleville, police recovered a $3-million trove of 16 stolen vintage and classic cars. The bust foreshadowed a ton of heartbreak for dozens of unsuspecting classic car owners — including at least one Eastern Ontario farmer — whose treasured vehicles are now being unceremoniously seized as stolen property without compensation.
According to the Petrolia Lambton County Independent, the legal mess involves 208 vehicles allegedly swindled out of a Lambton County classic car dealer over an extended period of time.
Somehow, vehicle ownerships were fraudulently transferred out of the dealership’s name, allowing somebody else to unlawfully sell those vehicles, according to media accounts. Around 45 of those vehicles have since been seized from the buyers and returned to the dealer, Grogan Classics.
Bewildered and enraged, the buyers are out of luck. They’ve lost their beloved collector cars, sometimes after years of ownership. And they’ve lost their money, including any invested improvements made to their vehicles.
That includes Alexandria farmer Roger Major who reported paying market price for his 1972 Chevy pickup truck four years ago. Police towed it away in August.
On a Facebook page set up for the victims of the racket, one purchaser of a stolen vehicle posted a photo of her classic Dodge Dart sitting on the bed of a tow truck that showed up on Thanksgiving.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help with victims’ legal costs, with $2,450 raised toward a $15,000 goal by Oct. 22.
Police have released scant information aside from naming three men in their 50s criminally accused in connection with the case. Stirling residents Robert Bradshaw, 54, and Gary Leblanc, 55, were both charged in May 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. In September, police charged Michael McCrory, 58, of Central Hastings, with possession of property obtained by crime, theft over $5,000, fraud over $5,000, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, and using a forged document.
“We empathize with those affected by this investigation, including the rightful owners of the stolen vehicles and those who unknowingly purchased them,” Lambton County OPP Detachment Commander Chris Avery said in a statement.
