Car recycling company owner in Winnipeg denies role in vehicle thefts by tow truck, blames employee

The owner of a towing company at the centre of a multi-vehicle theft investigation is laying the blame on his employee.

A Winnipeg business owner accused in a lawsuit of stealing vehicles with tow trucks and selling them for scrap metal is calling for the case to be dismissed, alleging that his employee was behind the illegal activity without his knowledge.

Cory Fincaryk, 48, and his company, Winnipeg Auto Recycling, were listed in a statement of claim filed in July as the target of a Winnipeg police investigation in connection to multiple vehicle thefts.

The claim filed by the director of the province’s criminal property forfeiture alleges Fincaryk and his unnamed employees were involved in the thefts of at least nine vehicles between July 2 and July 14 in Winnipeg.

The documents said the vehicles were towed to a property in East St. Paul, where Fincaryk or his employees would break windows, dent body panels, and paint “WAR”—the acronym for the company’s name—on the vehicles to make them look like scrap vehicles.

The stolen vehicles were then sold to a scrap recycling company in exchange for money, which was used to pay off loans for tow trucks, a trailer, Fincaryk’s mortgage, and deposited into bank accounts, according to the court filing.

However, Fincaryk claims that he and his company “did not knowingly receive a material gain as a result of the unlawful activity,” according to his statement of defence filed on Monday.

Fincaryk alleges his employee “was acting outside the scope of his authority, independently, and without the knowledge of the defendants … when he stole, damaged, and sold vehicles” using company property, according to the court filing.

Fincaryk admitted receiving money from his employee, according to the suit, but claims he did not know it was obtained from unlawful activity.

The statement of defence says that any reduction of debt obligations on Fincaryk’s mortgage, tow trucks, and trailer was with funds that were “legitimately obtained” through his employment. He also did not knowingly deposit any funds from illegal activity into his personal or business bank accounts, according to the filing.

The director of the province’s criminal property forfeiture previously sought a court order to seize Fincaryk’s property, along with his bank accounts, as proceeds and instruments of unlawful activity. An interim order was granted in July.

On July 16, the Winnipeg Police Service arrested two individuals and seized two tow trucks believed to be connected to vehicle thefts in the Transcona area.

Fincaryk was one of two arrested, according to court documents, and was charged with nine counts of motor vehicle thefts and five counts of mischief over $5,000.

A person who did not want to be identified answered a phone number for Winnipeg Auto Recycling in July, saying the employee involved had been fired. He said the situation had been “rectified” and did not want to comment further.

The province would not comment, as the matter is before the courts.

None of the claims have been tested in court.

-With files from CTV’s Harrison Shin