Fate of stolen $2M Ferrari in Buffalo court: Home to Italy or to a Florida car collection? "The problem: The U.S. Attorney's Office doesn't know what to do with the fast and expensive car that's been in federal government custody since December 2019 Two people claim ownership: an Italian man from whom the car was stolen in 2003 and a Florida man who purchased it online for $1.435 million in September 2019 for his rare automobile collection." https://buffalonews.com/news/local/fate-of-stolen-2m-ferrari-in-buffalo-court-home-to-italy-or-to-a-florida/article_b18abda0-8746-11eb-91f5-c37b8c7cf1b7.html
#165/349. Assembly #22899. Engine #43104. Gearbox #271. Body #109. New to dealer Rossocorsa S.r.l., Milan, Italy May 26, 1997 sold new to A. S. R. in Milan, Italy. 12/20/2002 for sale at auction in Switzerland, not sold. 02/2003 to Provenzi in Bergamo. 03/2003 stolen in Imola. Later in Japan. Might be another case where somebody didn't do his homework/due diligence. One of at least seven F50s stolen. Marcel Massini
it will not let me access the story, come up with this: 451: Unavailable due to legal reasons We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time. For any issues, call (800) 777-8640. but a google search brings up this picture of an F50.... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Text from the Buffalo Post article linked in the first post; "A fight for a Ferrari is brewing in federal court in Buffalo. And it's not over some everyday, run-of-the-mill Ferrari that costs a couple hundred thousand dollars. The fair market value for this red 1996 Ferrari F50 – one of just 349 F50s built – is $1.94 million. HotCars.com ranked the model as the third-coolest Italian sports car from the 1990s. Car and Driver magazine clocked a speed of 194 mph – with a dash to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds – when it tested a model. The problem: The U.S. Attorney's Office doesn't know what to do with the fast and expensive car that's been in federal government custody since December 2019. Two people claim ownership: an Italian man from whom the car was stolen in 2003 and a Florida man who purchased it online for $1.435 million in September 2019 for his rare automobile collection. The car ended up parked in Buffalo after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers inspected it at the Peace Bridge. It was being transported on a commercial carrier to Mohammed Alsaloussi of Miami, Fla., according to a court record. The car with 10,708 miles on it had an Alberta, Canada, license plate that was registered to Ikonick Collection Ltd., in Edmonton. During the inspection, the officers discovered some of the rivets on the VIN plate on the dashboard were covered in a black tar type substance, according to a court filing. When officers looked at pictures of rivets in similar cars, they did not see any glue substance. So CBP placed a hold on the car while they conducted an investigation into its history and a physical examination by the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The NICB conducted an on-site inspection and took photographs of the car and serial numbers of its components, concurring that the VIN plate was highly suspect, according to a court filing from Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul C. Parisi. The bureau sent the photographs to Ferrari Italy and requested information and assistance with identifying the car. Information from Ferrari showed the car was stolen in Italy in 2003, barely more than a month after Paolo Provenzi, residing in Italy, had bought it with family members. Provenzi had never recovered the car, said Miami attorney Alessandra Piras, who represents him. "When this is over, there’s going to be a movie made about this," Piras said. "This car has been going around the world, apparently. It was in Japan for a while." A Japanese man approached Provenzi a couple years ago asking him to withdraw his police report, she said. She called the car's travels "a complicated story" but declined further comment until she could review the court filing. A Seattle attorney who represents Ikonick Collection and Alsaloussi said his firm will file court papers in coming days. The federal government had the car authenticated and appraised in March 2020 and began forfeiture proceedings. It sent seizure notices to all known interested parties. Last May, CBP received a petition requesting remission of the seizure from the law firm representing Provenzi. In August, CBP notified the law firm that it had granted Provenzi's petition and that the car would be turned over to him upon the payment of storage and administrative costs of $8,476. Provenzi provided documentation showing that he, along with his father Remigio Provenzi, and his brother, Roberto Provenzi, purchased the car in February 2003. Provenzi confirmed that he was the owner of the car when it was stolen on March 30, 2003, from a hotel parking garage in Imola, Italy. He also provided documentation from his insurance company showing his loss was not covered. In September, CBP received a claim of ownership to the car from the law firm representing Ikonick Collection and Alsaloussi. Alsaloussi is the sole owner of Ikonick Collection, according to the court record, which indicates he created this holding company for his rare automobile collection. Asaloussi denied knowing the car was stolen when he bought it. The U.S. Attorney's Office filing says it has "great doubt" as to which person is entitled to the car. “After investigation, my office determined that it would not be appropriate for us to exercise our authority and forfeit this extremely valuable and previously stolen luxury car,” said U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. in a statement. “Instead, after an 18-year odyssey, which we know took it across continents and countries, we have decided that the time has come for a court of law to determine the rightful owner of the vehicle.” In the court filing, Parisi asked the federal court to: • Give notice to all persons known or thought to have an interest in the car • Restrain Provenzi and Alsaloussi from taking any action against the government to recover the car • Discharge the government from all liability, except for maintaining the car during the court proceeding • Dismiss the government from the proceeding • Award the government its costs"
Here it is prior to auction in Switzerland December 2002 and prior to the theft in Imola 2003. Marcel Massini Image Unavailable, Please Login
Undoubtedly belongs to Provenzi who was not paid out by insurance company. Alsaloussi bought a stolen car so has no right to it.
Maybe the car wasn't insured? Happens all the time in Italy. See the other two threads about stolen F40s. There too a stolen F40 was not insured. According to some Italian documents the F50 went to Provenzi's company Autoexotic on 13 March 2003. And just 17 days later, on 30 March 2003, the car was declared stolen. Not enough time to buy insurance? Marcel Massini
TAGS for the story listed > Tags Ferrari U.s. Customs And Border Protection U.s. Attorney's Office National Insurance Crime Bureau Paolo Provenzi Mohammed Alsaloussi James P. Kennedy Jr. Ikonick Collection Ltd. Peace Bridge Ferrari F50 Ikonick Collections
That Ikonick Collection Ltd., in Edmonton is/was registered to a single family home there. Strange...https://albertacorporations.com/ikonick-collection-ltd
Is there any connection/relation to Barry Skolnick's Ikonick Collection/Motors in Miami? Or not? (Yes, I am aware that Edmonton/Canada is not the same as Miami, FL). Marcel Massini
Appears just to be a coincidence the names are similar. That caught my attention so I had to look it up and they look separate.
The Italian man owns the car. The Miami man bought stolen property and clearly did not do any due diligence. A simple inspection would have identified the anomalous VIN plate right away warranting a deeper look. These inspections are common for any car financed through Woodside, Hagerty, etc. The Miami man clearly did zero due diligence as it is his own fault. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
People who buy stolen cars either intentionally or unintentionally are lured in by the 'cheap' price, the latter is the red flag. Whether they do due diligence or not is another matter.
It is said the person bought it "online" for something like "1.435 M $" or whatever was really paid in 2019. Who the hell buys a multi million dollar Ferrari "online"? What exactly does that mean anyway? WHO was the seller? Due diligence? Zero. Marcel Massini
Even if that VIN plate was not anomalous one would better check the VIN anyway. I knew since 2003 that this particular F50 was stolen. Like six others too (mostly in Italy). Marcel Massini
Just hope the US will rely on common sense rather than defending a US national - from the limited knowkedge I get here I can't uneerstand why there is aky debate. The buyer of a stolen car should not have any right on this car, he has to look for compensation from the seller.
Foolish to buy a car like this without due diligence. But, purchased from/through what appears to be a reputable dealership. Hope to hear the rest of the story sooner than later. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I think it would be most interesting to know who was attempting to cross the border with it, and whether they were aware they were driving a stolen vehicle, and what their legal situation is now.
https://ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/stolen-f50.638781/ https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ferrari-stolen-in-italy-18-years-ago-recovered-at-peace-bridge-u-s-attorney-looking-for-owner.638771/
From whom did Motorcarlease in Montréal get this F50? It had been in Japan previously. Marcel Massini