Germans courts on the case

[Yellow491]

https://www.bild.de/regional/koeln/koel ... .bild.html

[KS]

Rearrange these words into a well-known phrase. shite fan the hit about is to the...

[IanM]

Google translation:

From: BIRGIT BEGASS
11/9/2021 - 5:25 pm

Aachen / Düsseldorf - It's about fraudulent millions with expensive classic cars.

Three men are said to have made big money with it. Uwe N. (50) a sports car restorer from Aachen, the Düsseldorf beauty doctor Dr. Afschin Fatemi (47) and the ex-Porsche employee and racing driver Jürgen B. (74).

The trio has been tried in front of the Aachen regional court since Tuesday. According to the indictment of the Aachen public prosecutor's office, the gang is said to have rebuilt race cars from the 1960s that were ready for scrap or made replicas.
The defendant Uwe N. with his lawyers Goran Bronisch and Dr. Stephan Prinz and the defendant Jürgen B. with his defense lawyer Sören Gemmerich.

Chassis numbers and vehicle letters are said to have been forged. An employee of the Düren road traffic authority is said to have registered the vehicles and thus encouraged the fraud. Separate proceedings are pending against him.

Millions fraud with a fake Porsche?

Lawsuit against cosmetic doctor Dr. Afschin Fatemi (49) for forgery of documents and fraud with historical Porsche models.

A million scam!

On the first day of the trial, only the indictment was read out - the public prosecutor's office assumes 21 cases. In six cases, fake classic cars are said to have been sold as real.

All three have so far been silent on the allegations. The lawyers of the main defendant Uwe N. applied for the main hearing to be interrupted so that their client can be examined. Goran Bronisch: “My client may not be able to negotiate because of a long-term illness. This should now be checked."

The trial is scheduled to continue on November 18th.

[KS]

It is almost impossible to imagine the full implications in the Porsche world of this case if proven...

[Yellow491]

The doctor came to my house and purchased my original ST years ago,had a nice collection of cars.
Its sad is it not,i wonder how many are in the loop,and of course not guilty until proven.

[hot66]

is the google translation use of words correct ? eg whats wrong with rebuilding race cars that were ready for 'scrap'

do we know which cars are alleged 'replicas' .. I'm assuming 'dead' old race cars identities were given to fresh restored 'replica' versions thus becoming the 'real' car ? ..

[Nine One One]

Couple of bits on the 911 Registry, with links to suspected cars or incidents?

https://www.early911sregistry.org/forum ... in-Germany

https://www.early911sregistry.org/forum ... and+engine

https://www.early911sregistry.org/forum ... sion/page4

https://www.early911sregistry.org/forum ... ight=Barth

[KS]

I guess the problem comes when you apply the chassis number of the 'scrapped' race car to a new chassis and sell it as the real thing, or verify the history of a car when it had none worthy of verification.

Uwe Niermann's Scuderia M66's profile is still on Facebook, but with no posts since 2019. Their website has been taken down.

From an earlier newspaper report:
AACHEN
Around 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 of 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 this is exactly what an extraordinary criminal case revolves, which has its center in Aachen and which will most likely soon occupy the economic criminal chamber of the Aachen regional court. 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.

Aacheners 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's office has brought charges against three suspects, including fraud, forgery and trademark infringement. 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 from Aachen is believed to have been involved in all of these cases and is therefore the main defendant. Even after the raid he was almost four months in custody and was only released on payment of a large 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 proceedings - in addition to the 550 and the 917, for example, racing versions of the Porsche 911 and the models 904 and 908, among others.

Replica from scrap
First, 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 this, sometimes like that. An example: One customer was interested in a certain rare, original Porsche. In the Aachener company it was "procured". But not as an original. Rather, a replica was practically conjured up out of scrap, but then sold to the prospect as an original. The investigators believe that since there are only a few vehicles left worldwide or they were even unique in the field of racing that they had to, among other things, also forge the chassis number and the papers. In relation to the data, e.g. chassis numbers, the 72-year-old Porsche specialist and former Le Mans winner, who has a large archive, has also contributed information.
A racing driver and lover of rare cars is said to have had a 911 built - knowing that it was a fake. 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 200,000 euros, which was never delivered.

Counterfeiting down to the smallest detail
In yet another case there was this curiosity: Original documents from 1970 are said to have been presented when selling. However, an opinion by the public prosecutor's office revealed that the type of paper 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, the said Porsche 550 and the credit line was not just small change: The total credit was 6.347 million euros. 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 little 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 where the Aachen case was exposed. The Düren road traffic office had become aware of irregularities in this area. On closer inspection, it became clear that the Aachen-based company in particular, appeared frequently in this context, which was the initial signal for the investigations, which then spread widely.
Employees of the traffic office authority have also been identified, but their investigation has been separated because they are said to have waved through the papers and vehicles not only for the Aacheners, but also for other "customers". 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 at 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 presented, 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 permitted 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, about whom this story revolves around valuable originals and forgeries, has filed a criminal complaint for infringement of trademark law: Porsche.

[hot66]

facinatiing to see how this plays out then !

[KS]

Considering the role played by one of the accused, this is potentially very embarrassing for Porsche whom, I note, is also filing papers for trademark infringement...

[964RS]

How to destroy your entire legacy in 3 easy steps......

[majordad]

A murky world of old competition cars, even the manufactures themselves in the 60s and early 70s swapped over more than number plates. Sometimes this was because of accidents and sometimes to ease movements between countries.

Do I recall Audi , allegedly, swapping doors on a Quattro during a rally ?

[Sam]

Who is this mysterious Jurgen B who won Lemans in Porsches?

[KS]

Not sure if you’re messing or not, but Jürgen Barth.

[neilbardsley]

When I saw that name I didn't believe it for a second and had to Google check they were referring to another J B!

Didn't he come to Classics at the Castle a few years ago?

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