Ontario re-vinning investigation results in 4 arrests, including ServiceOntario worker

An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) patch is seen in Ottawa, on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Ontario police have charged four people, including an employee of a privately-operated ServiceOntario centre, in connection with an investigation into the resale of stolen vehicles in the province.

In a news release issued Thursday, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said the investigation, dubbed Project Tailwind, began looking into allegations of re-vinning and fraudulent registration of stolen vehicles.

Re-vinning is the process of altering or replacing a vehicle’s unique identification number to make it appear legitimate.

Investigators said they discovered that documents required in Ontario’s vehicle registration process were being “improperly obtained and misused.”

“These documents were then used to facilitate giving stolen vehicles new Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN), allowing them to be registered with the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO), sold and driven on public roads as legitimate vehicles,” they said.

Police executed four search warrants earlier this month in Maple, Brampton and Kitchener. Six stolen vehicles, as well as “electronic devices,” were recovered following those searches.

Sonia Cianfaran, a 28-year-old Vaughan resident, is charged with breach of trust and trafficking property obtained by crime over $5,000.

Sarvathan Balasubramaniam, 32, and Gajan Karunanithy, 34, both of Brampton, as well as Jose Lozano, 36, of Kitchener, were each charged with use, deals, acts on forged documents and trafficking property obtained by crime over $5,000.

The suspects have been released and are scheduled to appear in a Newmarket court on June 12.

Police are asking anyone with information about their investigation to contact them at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.