More On:

ferrari

Ferrari’s owner is taking a stake in Christian Louboutin shoe brand

Ferrari CEO steps down after battle with COVID-19

Ferrari stock soars as CEO says company has no plans to go electric

Feds eye rapper who allegedly made it rain with COVID-19 relief money

It’s the slowest moving Ferrari in history.

Almost two decades after the $2 million luxury sports car was stolen in Italy, it has turned up near the Canadian border – en route to a Miami collector.

But the Ferrari’s 18-year odyssey isn’t over yet as a court battle gets underway to decide who gets the pricey wheels.

“When this is over, there’s going to be a movie made about this,” attorney Alessandra Piras, who represents the original owner Paolo Provenzi, told The Buffalo News.

Provenzi purchased the 1996 Ferrari F50 in Italy for a relative in 2003, only to have it stolen from a hotel parking lot the following week.

Miami collector Mohammed Alsaloussi then bought the car in 2019 for $1.43 million and was having it shipped from Canada.

Border agents seized it at Peace Bridge, near a Niagara Falls border crossing on Dec. 14, the US Attorneys Office said in a release.

However, the ownership of the vehicle is now in fierce contention. 

Prosecutors have filed a civil suit in the case to allow federal courts to decide who gets the Italian car, which was valued by the feds at $1.9 million.

“We have been eagerly awaiting the filing of this action and believe our client has a very strong claim of ownership of this vehicle,” Richard O’Neill, Alsaloussi’s lawyer, told The Buffalo News this week.

Federal authorities said it has “great doubt” as to who should get the car, so they’re going to let the courts figure it out, the office said.

“After investigation, my office determined that it would not be appropriate for us to exercise our authority and forfeit this extremely valuable and previously stolen luxury car,” James Kennedy, US Attorney for the Western District of New York, said in a statement.

“Instead, after an 18-year odyssey, which we know took it across continents and countries, we have decided that the time has come for a court of law to determine the rightful owner of the vehicle,” Kennedy said.

But it won’t be cheap — the pricey wheels have amassed about $9,000 in storage fees and administrative costs while in federal custody.

Share this article:

Source: Read Full Article