The Evoys aren’t the only former classic-car owners left searching for answers. Dozens have been caught up in a sprawling OPP investigation involving more than 200 vintage vehicles.
It was sparked by a December 2023 complaint from Larry Grogan, a Watford, Ont., dealer, who accused his business partner of stealing them. The man is alleged to have transferred the titles into his own name, over a 4.5-year period, at Service Ontario outlets via forged documents, with many of the vehicles then sold on to unsuspecting customers.
In late May, the OPP charged two Stirling, Ont., men — Robert Bradshaw (the former business partner) and Gary Leblanc — with theft, fraud and forgery. Investigators have been busy ever since, repossessing vehicles from people’s garages and driveways.
After reading that I’m still really confused who these cars were stolen from. From the sounds of things, the current owners are losing their newly bought vehicles only for them to get put back on a dealer lot, which is just insane.
Surely by now the original owners have already claimed insurance on their stolen vehicles? The police repossessing them from legal purchasers who were unaware just seems like it’s making the whole situation worse.
The original owner was the car dealership that’s now selling them. So officially, they were stolen from the dealer, but it really sounds like they were stolen by the dealer from their own customers