Barrie, Ont. man at centre of alleged $2.2 million stolen car scheme in Toronto

A Barrie man is accused of being at the centre of an alleged $2.2 million stolen used car scheme.

The former Barrie and Orillia car salesman is one of two men accused of selling at least 22 stolen cars with fake papers to unsuspecting buyers at a legitimate Scarborough dealership where police say the men worked in sales.

Harris Bocknek, 35, was arrested last month, according to Toronto Police, as part of the Project Warden investigation into the alleged fraud.

Harris Bocknek (L) (Courtesy: LinkedIn) and Fadi Zeto (R) face charges in connection with an auto theft investigation called 'Project Warden.'

Police believe Bocknek worked as a used car salesman at the Scarborough dealership where its alleged he and colleague Fadi Zeto defrauded nearly two dozen unsuspecting customers who bought stolen vehicles from them.

“Stolen vehicles were falsely registered to individuals that were not listed on the sales documents, including one individual who was deceased at the time of the sale,” said Toronto Police Det. Dan Kraehling at a press conference Wednesday.

Police believe there could be more customers who purchased the vehicles and encourage them to come forward. They released a picture of Zeto as part of the investigation, but not Bocknek.

A police spokesperson told CTV News, “We will not be releasing the photo of the second individual arrested in this case. We do not release photos of those arrested unless investigators believe there are more victims, that is why we released the photo of Mr. Zeto. With regards to Mr. Bocknek, there is no investigative reason to release his photo, and we won’t be able to share it.”

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Toronto Police arrested and charged the accused last month with 176 counts, resulting in about $2.2 million in losses to the impacted dealership and its customers.

Police added the dealership sold “everyday cars,” not luxury vehicles, and the dealership recently called police to report the alleged fraud.

Police say the men made up sales agreements using vehicle information numbers from other vehicles, and in some cases altered Carfax reports on the vehicles’ history to make them seem legitimate.

Using their dealership’s money, the accused are alleged to have purchased the stolen cars from various numbered companies that police say were traced back to the accused.

A biography on one of Bocknek’s social media pages says in part, “Perseverance with the right attitude are still the foundation to success.” The bio adds Bocknek enjoys “spending Sundays in cottage country or on Kempenfelt Bay.”

Bocknek is scheduled to make a court appearance in Toronto next month. The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.