Two dealership workers arrested in alleged stolen car scam

Two employees of a Toronto car dealership are facing a total of 176 charges related to an alleged $2.18-million vehicle scam, police revealed.

The duo reportedly exploited their positions to facilitate the sale of stolen cars under the pretense of legitimate transactions, affecting both the dealership and buyers.

Investigators learned that the two suspects allegedly used their positions to acquire and sell stolen vehicles to unsuspecting customers under the guise of legitimate used car sales.

"Altogether, their activities have caused financial loss of approximately $2.18 million, which affected both the dealership and unsuspecting members of the public," Detective Dan Kraehling said at a news conference Wednesday, according to a CBC report.

Employees engage in vehicle theft

To operate the scam, the two employees would have the vehicles purchased from numbered companies, some of which were owned by the accused themselves, using funds from the dealership, according to the Toronto police.

The accused would then create fictitious sales agreements using “clean” Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs), and would alter Carfax reports to match the fraudulent vehicle information, giving buyers the appearance of a legitimate purchase.

A stolen vehicle would then be delivered to the buyer in what appeared to be a legitimate vehicle purchase. However, unbeknownst to the buyer, the vehicle VIN they received did not match the vehicle that they had purchased from the accused.

 Some of the sold vehicles were falsely registered to individuals who were not listed on the sales documents, according to the police.

The investigation began in August when authorities discovered the scam. During the week of October 21, 2024, investigators executed eight Criminal Code search warrants on residences, commercial garages, and vehicles. Investigators located and recovered two suspected “re-vinned” vehicles, in addition to numerous amounts of documents and other electronics used to facilitate the fraudulent activities and the sale of stolen motor vehicles.

Investigators have currently linked the accused to 22 fraudulent auto sales that were conducted while the accused were acting in their capacity as legitimate car salespeople.

Previously, an employee theft that cost London Drugs as much as $2 million over five years landed one of its workers in jail. Also, a British Columbia hotel worker was fired for $14 theft.