I am currently working to go after those responsible trying to create a fraudulent car with the same VIN number as my car.
I am currently working to go after those responsible trying to create a fraudulent car with the same VIN number as my car.
Last edited by alarson11; 01-25-2018 at 06:36 AM.
LOOKING FOR:
ENGINE Nos: 4080191, 911669
GEARBOX Nos: 9282004, 131410, 115639
1967 Porsche 911 P.A.R.T. Trans Am Rally Kit #308107
1968 Porsche 911S Sebring GT class winner #11800224
1971 Porsche 911S Targa Conda Green
1973 Porsche 2.8 RSR ex-Targa Florio, 2xLeMans #9113600894
. . . whaddiya make o' this one? . . .
I mean --- it's a race car, so . . . ya figure that the OG ENG + TRANS are basically pffft
But for this one, they pretty-much had to re-panel the whole car . . .
. . . I mean --- when was the last time you heard of anyone having to replace a roof, fercryinoutloud?
Whaddiya call something like this?
A Restoplica? . . .
. . . or Repliginal? . . .
....
[QUOTE=LongRanger;989685]Well that sounds ominous
Any updates?
Thanks for asking! As anything that happens with an attorney, it takes time. Given the extensive photo history file, ownership letters, video restoration documentation, and expert inspection reports, there is not much of a fight the other party can put up. As soon as I have something concrete to share, I definitely will!
LOOKING FOR:
ENGINE Nos: 4080191, 911669
GEARBOX Nos: 9282004, 131410, 115639
1967 Porsche 911 P.A.R.T. Trans Am Rally Kit #308107
1968 Porsche 911S Sebring GT class winner #11800224
1971 Porsche 911S Targa Conda Green
1973 Porsche 2.8 RSR ex-Targa Florio, 2xLeMans #9113600894
Another thread . . .
http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...l=1#post991555
'. . . The restoration to take this hulk to that level could easily cost $150,000, yet its final value would be diminished by the fact that it was wrecked and rusted and would be comprised of almost all replacement parts. That equation brings us to a dirty little secret of the hobby: rebodied, or “air” cars, built from little more than legal ownership and (usually) the earthly remains of desirable cars . . .'
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...10_HagertyNews
....................
Impressive collection:
https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2020...ork-22465.html
Google translation of an article in a German newspaper from Aachen:
Aachener Zeitung, Dez. 8th 2020 (translation by Google)
On the slopes of this world they have become legends made of sheet metal, for example because they victoriously crossed the finish line at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The fact that film icon James Dean raced to his death with a copy contributed to the formation of legend on the streets. In one case there is talk of the Porsche 917, the multiple Le Mans winner, which is sometimes referred to as the “racing car of the century”. In the other case, a Porsche 550 Spyder that was only built around 100 times. It cost 24,000 Deutschmarks in the 1950s, which sounds rather ridiculous today, but was certainly a lot of money back then. If you want to buy an original today, you have to put around five to seven million euros on the table. With the 917 one speaks of completely different sums in the double-digit million range. It goes without saying that such automotive treasures attract some people with excessive money as prestige objects or as investments. And that is exactly what an extraordinary criminal case revolves around, which has its center in Aachen and which will most likely soon occupy the commercial criminal chamber of the Aachen regional court. Because such vehicles are said to have been counterfeited in rows in a company in Aachen and then brought to buyers with equally forged papers and reports, sometimes for millions.
Man from Aachen among the defendants
In July 2019, apartments and business premises were searched in several federal states. Now, after a total of more than two and a half years of extensive investigations in the sensational case, the public prosecutor has brought charges against three suspects, including fraud, forgery and trademark violation. The accused are the 49-year-old former managing director of a company specializing in vintage cars in Aachen, a 48-year-old cosmetic surgeon from Düsseldorf and a 72-year-old former successful racing driver and proven Porsche racing expert from Sachsenheim.
The indictment encompasses a total of 22 cases in the most varied of forms, whereby the 49-year-old Aachener is believed to have been involved in all of these cases and is therefore the main defendant. He was in custody for almost four months after the raid and was only released on bail. According to Lena Streubel, deputy spokeswoman for the regional court, the other two defendants are each charged with participating in four cases. A total of 14 automotive legends on four wheels play a role in the process - in addition to the 550 and 917, for example, racing versions of the Porsche 911 as well as the 904 and 908 models.
Speaking of large circles: after our newspaper's first report in July 2019, numerous witnesses reported to the investigators - even from afar. For example, a man from Japan who said he had been cheated. There was also evidence from the United States and elsewhere. No wonder that the four-person team of investigators from the Aachen Criminal Police Office has repeatedly resorted to the services of interpreters in their investigations, which have been ongoing since April 2018. Despite the charges that have now been submitted, the investigations are not yet over, as the investigating prosecutor Jan Balthasar says. For example, it has not yet been possible to clarify where and by whom the papers were forged.
Did the customers know?
The court must now decide whether the indictment will lead to main proceedings. According to Lena Streubel, “at the moment it cannot be predicted at all” when a lawsuit could then occur. According to reports, the accused businessman confessed that he had admitted falsifications. However, customers would have known that they were buying counterfeits.
The amount of the total damage is not easy for the investigators to estimate, since the forgeries also have a value, albeit a lower one. However, this case is likely to be in the double-digit million range. Incidentally, the manufacturer, whose valuable originals and their forgeries this story is about, has also filed a criminal complaint for infringement of trademark law: Porsche.
Insiders have reported to our newspaper that, for example, for forging engine and gearbox numbers, special punching tools have been built that have the same small flaws - such as notches in certain numbers and letters - as the originals in the factory. Or, for example, that old typewriters, which were common when the original vehicles were built, are used to forge vehicle papers. Those familiar with the scene say that there is a flourishing trade worldwide not only in counterfeit vehicles, but also in papers.
Of course, the vehicles also need official approval. This is the interface where the Aachen case was exposed. The Düren road traffic office had become aware of irregularities in this area. On closer inspection, it became apparent that the Aachen company in particular appeared frequently in this context. That was the starting shot for the investigation, which then drew wide circles. An investigation has also been carried out against the employee of the authority, but the proceedings have been severed because he is said to have waved through the papers and vehicles not only for the Aacheners but also for other “customers”.
Replica from scrap
According to information from our newspaper, the investigations initially included significantly more cases. Initially, the investigators created 186 case files. Then they focused on 35 suspected cases, although sometimes the allegations either could not be substantiated or they were already statute-barred - for example in the case of another great racing driver of yore. How did the business work? Answer: sometimes like that, sometimes like that. An example: a customer was interested in a certain rare Porsche type in the original. It was “procured” in the Aachen company. But not as an original. Rather, a replica was conjured up from scrap metal, which is then supposed to have been sold as an original to the interested party, the investigators believe. Since there are sometimes only a few of the vehicles left in the world or there are even unique items in the racing sector, the chassis number and the papers, among other things, had to be forged. Regarding the data, such as chassis numbers, the 72-year-old Porsche specialist and former Le Mans winner, who has a large archive, is said to have contributed the information. If, for example, it could be assumed that a vehicle probably no longer exists, its number was used for a forgery. In one case it went wrong. After the investigation got underway, a man reported to the public prosecutor's office who had an original in the garage, but which had also changed hands elsewhere as a fake, supposedly unique original for huge sums of money. The accused cosmetic surgeon, who is also a racing driver and lover of rare cars, is said to have had a 911 built - knowing that it was a fake. However, this car is said to have been sold later as an expensive original. The public prosecutor's office also classifies this as fraud. In another case, a forgery is said to have been made with the knowledge of the buyer. In the sales contract it was agreed that the car would receive an original gearbox worth EUR 200,000, which was never delivered. Counterfeit down to the smallest detail In yet another case there was this curiosity: Original documents from 1970 are said to have been presented here when it was sold. However, an appraisal by the public prosecutor's office showed that the paper grade had only been on the market since the 1980s. In another case, the cosmetic surgeon is said to have used a counterfeit classic car as security for a bank loan. According to the indictment, it was the said Porsche 550 and the credit line was not about change: The total credit was accordingly 6.347 million euros.