A court in the U.S. will determine the rightful owner of a Ferrari F50 that was seized at the Canada-U.S. border in December 2019.
The rare Ferrari, one of just 349 units produced, was being shipped from Quebec, Canada to a car collector in Florida in December 2019 when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Peace Bridge Port of Entry in Buffalo, New York, noticed there was a tar-like substance covering the rivets of the car’s VIN plate.
After contacting Ferrari and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, it was soon discovered that the F50 had been stolen in March 2003 from a parking garage in Imola, Italy. Italian resident Paolo Provenzi has since been able to prove that he and his father purchased the supercar roughly a month before it was stolen, CNN reports.
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Understandably, Provenzi wants the car back. But so does Mohammed Alsaloussi, the man in Florida who purchased it in September 2019 for $1.435 million and was having it imported into the United States.
According to attorney Alessandra Piras who represents Provenzi, the F50 has been all around the world and even resided in Japan at one stage. Meanwhile, Alsaloussi’s attorney Richard O’Neill says his client “holds government-issued title and registration to the vehicle” and had no idea it had been stolen.
“Only recently have we discovered the existence of the other claimant,” O’Neill said. “We have many questions about the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged 2003 sale and theft. If the other claimant makes an appearance in this case, we intend to make a very thorough inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding his claim. We have been eagerly awaiting the filing of this action and look forward to resolving this matter.”
Unable to determine which of the two men should get the car, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has “decided that the time has come for a court of law to determine the rightful owner of the vehicle.”
