Lithuanians cheated half of Europe: foreigners who brought cars for restoration were left without money and cars

German Joachim Schaupp contacted Delfi’s editorial office after deciding to tell him about his five-year attempt to return the cars brought to Lithuania for the alleged restoration. He is not the only foreign citizen who has been the victim of an alleged restorer and has gone to court to recover his property.

Due to the story told in this text, a criminal case was started, then ended and resumed in Lithuania. Delfi could not be contacted by the suspect in the case.

Looking for a better price

In 2015 J. Schauppas, a German citizen, brought him to Lithuania in 1979. Renault Alpine, owned by him for about 20 years.

“After buying the car, I started looking for someone who could restore it. I listened to German companies and heard that it would take about 30,000 trucks for Renault Alpine to get back on the road. euros You could earn as much if you sold such a model under ideal conditions. And then my wife, who is Lithuanian, offered to check the prices of restoration works in Lithuania, ”said J. Schauppas.

The man sent several inquiries to Lithuanian auto restorers, and one of the respondents to the German letter was a representative of K. V., then the Lords Restorations company. According to J. Schaupas, the Lithuanian assured in the letters that he is a specialist in fiberglass bodies, as Renault Alpine had, and that he has a lot of experience. Both agreed that the German would take his car to a Lithuanian workshop while traveling to Lithuania. Schaup said it was estimated that all the work would require around 6.5 thousand. euros

“I am well aware that this amount could eventually grow to 10 or 15 thousand. euros, because surprises can always happen when restoring cars. However, I was pretty calm about that, because I knew the value of the car would be higher, “said J. Schaupp.

The interlocutor said that in the coming months, he received photos of the chosen car, as if the work had started, and then he was asked for a first installment of 3,000 euros. The German made no secret of the fact that he was disturbed for a moment when asked to pay the contribution into an Estonian account, but Mr. Schaupp said that in his speeches Mr. V. ran into him.

“It wasn’t until later that we started litigation that it became clear that Lords Restorations, which he represented, was already bankrupt at the time, so if he had transferred the money to that company’s account, he wouldn’t have been able to withdraw a penny “, said.

Also bought three porsche

Shortly after the renovation of the Renault Alpine, Mr. V. offered Mr. Schaupp to acquire three Porsches owned by a Norwegian and Lithuanian customer. The cars were in the US And the Lithuanian offered the German to buy them, allow him to restore them and, after selling the Porsche, to share the profits. Mr. Schaupp agreed, paid 11 thousand. and became the owner of the 928S and two 944 models. Admittedly, the German name does not exist in contracts, because J. Schauppas agreed to pay on behalf of Vorfreude Services: yes, it should have been easier to bring Porsche models to Lithuania through the port of Klaipeda. Porsche’s trip to Lithuania lasted a year.

While waiting for the Porsche, the Lithuanian told the German that he had the opportunity to buy two small classic cars, the Zundapp Janus, from the company Best Classic Cars. Mr. V. said that he could buy these cars from a dealer in Poland, but Mr. Schaupp should transfer the amount he needed directly to his personal or business account.

Interested in the offer, the German transferred the requested amount – 4 thousand. but today he suspects that the two cars never existed.

“At first, he showed me photos of those two cars from the place where they were stored. Even with body number (VIN code). However, when I began to ask when the vehicles would arrive in Lithuania, he began to tell increasingly incredible stories, “said the interlocutor.

Since K. V. agreed with the German that he could buy cars in Germany, transport them to Lithuania, which will be restored by a Lithuanian here, and after the sale, the two will share the profits, J. Schaupp himself for 9 thousand. purchased in 1958. Zundapp Janus and K. V. arranged their arrival in Lithuania and paid for transportation costs.

This entire story unfolded over two years, until 2017. Finally, in the summer of 2017, the patience and confidence of the patient he heard ran out. J. Schauppas filed a complaint with Vorfreude Services, represented by K.V., because the restoration work on the first Renault Alpine brought to Lithuania had to be completed before July 15 of that year.

According to the claim, as J. Schauppas planned to sell the restored car, due to work not done by the Lithuanian, he lost the customer and lost around 10.6 thousand. profit of the euro And this is not the only loss. Schaupp later lost another customer, Alain Ebert, who was determined to buy Renault and even covered part of the alleged restoration costs. According to Mr Schaupp, a customer willing to buy a car transferred € 3 040 to the Vorfreude Services account, represented by Mr V. Thus, in total, a little more than LTL 6,000 was paid to the restoration works . euros

Pieces in different workshops.

When he started looking for the end of the offer, J. Schauppas discovered that some of the cars that had been brought to Lithuania for restoration work had been dismantled in parts and the parts had not been returned. For example, according to a German Delfi, missing Renault Alpine parts that would cost around 6 thousand to buy. euros

“In addition, during those years I entrusted K.V. with small jobs, I brought frills to break them with new leather, tires to renew them, etc.,” emphasized the interlocutor.

In 2018, Mr. Schaupp demanded that Mr. V. return part of the money paid to him. Furthermore, the German said that, together with his wife, he decided to return to the auto shop that he had previously traveled with K.V. to see how the restoration work was carried out.

“It was not difficult to discover that K.V. has developed a complete system: English offers car restoration work to foreign clients from Germany, Denmark, Great Britain, Norway, the Netherlands and other countries.” The customer ships the car, and K.V. begin to dismantle it, send parts to the workshop. For what? Only he knows. At that time, take photos and ask customers to pay part of the agreed amount. Repeat the same later, “said Schaupp.

According to him, K. V. deceived not only foreigners, but also compatriots, because he entrusted the repair of several automobile units to other workshops. However, they were not paid for the work, so the details were not returned.

Offered a Maserati engine

After demanding the return of the cars and the money paid, J. Schauppas received an offer from K. V. to take the Lithuanian Maserati Quattroporte engine and various other parts instead of the money. K. V. said that the car had come from Germany before him, but that its owner had died and no one had demanded a return of the car in 7-8 years. So by law the engine is now owned by K.V.

Schaupp said he agreed because he wanted to get back at least part of the money. Soon, however, the man unexpectedly encountered a German companion, who said that he had turned in his Maserati to restore it in K. himself and had not recovered it. When asked what the engine number of the Italian car was, Schaupp heard that 172.

“The motor number they gave me was 472. Realizing it could be the same motor, I removed all the ads and went to the German criminal police. It turned out that, in fact, the engine number was false and it is the same engine that was sought. And not only that, it turned out that the owner of Maserati brought K.V. to the courts more than 6 years ago, but the case was closed without signs of fraud, “the interlocutor was surprised.

Recovered after the raid

In 2019 J. Schauppas went to court asking to punish K.V. for fraud. In the spring of the same year, Lithuanian police officers raided and inspected warehouses where K. V. kept foreign equipment.

The German recovered the piece-selected Renault Alpine, one of three Porsches, one of the Zundapp Janus, which he bought in Germany himself, as well as the return of a wheelset and a Porsche engine.

“The 928S model is gone. The dark red 944 model was also missing, but the police discovered it in 2019. in the fall at the Gariūnai market, standing by the fence. K. V. explained that he sold this car to a Latvian for 30 percent. The amount I paid to buy this Porsche. The black 944 model was also found by police in the same market, “the man said.

Prosecutors did not see the crime.

After the search, during which Mr. Schaupp recovered part of his cars and parts, there was silence, and later, in 2020. In mid-February, it was announced that the pre-trial investigation had ended because, By decision of the prosecutor, KV had not committed any criminal offense and the relationship between the German citizen and the Lithuanian was civil, so disputes should be resolved in civil rather than criminal cases.

Dovilė Murauskienė, GLIMSTEDT Bernotas ir partneriai, lead lawyer, lawyer, Delfi said that she was facing the case against KVno for the first time, because in 2015. a Swedish citizen asked the law firm to retrieve the car delivered to Mr. V. Then , part of the car was recovered in civil proceedings.

According to the expert, in the practice of law enforcement institutions, situations in which it is necessary to decide whether existing legal relationships belong to the areas of civil or criminal law are quite common. This is because the burden of proof in criminal proceedings is shifted from the victim to the prosecutor’s office, and this undoubtedly facilitates the victim’s ability to collect relevant data. Therefore, pretrial investigation officers, prosecutors, in all cases seek to determine whether such statements regarding the initiation of a pretrial investigation are warranted and whether it is within their competence.

“However, pretrial investigation officers and prosecutors must assess all circumstances that would determine whether the actions of a person who assumed certain obligations and failed to perform to the detriment of the victims were without prior criminal intent to misappropriate the property entrusted to him. ” If the pre-trial investigation finds that the author’s promises were based on a lie from the start to appropriate the property entrusted to him, they should be considered a crime. Otherwise, victims have the opportunity to request compensation in civil proceedings, “explained Mr. Murauskienė.

Therefore, on the procedural side, the lawyer emphasized that the most difficult thing for victims to provide data was that the author had already knowingly misled the property and did not intend to fulfill his obligations by accepting their property. From a human point of view, it is difficult to explain to foreign citizens why the Lithuanian legal system refuses to help them.

According to her, the law firms are unaware of the case of more than 12 foreigners affected by this type of activity carried out by a single person. D. Murauskienė made no secret that these types of criminal cases are often heard even for several years, so a quick solution cannot be expected here.

“The aliens we represent are in dire straits. It is impossible to find missing and dismantled cars whose parts may be hidden or sold without the help of pre-trial investigative officers.” There is even less chance of trying to defend your rights by filing of civil lawsuits: KV and his company do not have liquid assets, therefore, if the courts make decisions in civil cases, they would not automatically be enforceable, “said the interlocutor.

The study will be updated.

An appeal against the decision to suspend the pre-trial investigation in late April revealed that the court had ordered that it be reopened. According to the court order, Mr. V. had entered into contracts for the restoration work for more than three years, requested advances, but did not comply with the terms of the contract and did not carry out the restoration works.

“Sufficiently long and systematic noncompliance, the number of outstanding contracts, the verbal form of most contracts, and the amount of advances received give reasonable reason to believe that the Korean Government, in concluding auto renewal contracts, He realized and foresaw that he could not, however, he still concluded new contracts and demanded an advance from the clients, realizing that his operation could cause damage to the legitimate owners of the cars, “the court ruled.

It was also made clear in the order that Vorfreude Services was headed by Mr. V. V.’s brother, who claimed that he had been persuaded to take that position and that the director was “on paper”. In addition, part of the advance payments were transferred to Mr. K.’s cohabiting personal account.

“This gives sufficient reason to believe that K. V., in concluding contracts for auto restoration work and requesting an advance payment for future work and parts necessary for repairs, was intended to appropriate foreign property,” the order emphasizes.

The victim is not the only one.

Other foreigners who had entrusted the restoration of K.V. They decided to litigate and try to recover the property that belonged to them. According to the case file, it turns out that the Lithuanian promised and did not restore many other cars.

For example, in Lithuania, the 1983 Model Porsche 911, the value of which, according to pre-trial investigation data, is approximately 14 thousand. as well as the classic Volvo 121, which is said to be worth 17,000 euros. euros

After the delivery of K. V. for its restoration, the Jaguar Daimer Double and BMW M5 cars disappeared, and the owners of the Volkswagen 1600TL model, the value of which is approximately 10 thousand. euros

The Opel GT model, worth around 4,000 euros, was also lost in Lithuania, and the 1965 Sunbeam Tiger model was not returned to the owners. Up to 18 thousand. The damage was caused to a person who relied on a Lithuanian to rebuild three BMWs and lost parts of these cars.

According to data from the pre-trial investigation, the 1250 Austin Healey BJ8 model, whose owner suffered 20,000 accidents, also went missing in Lithuania. to damage.

Known among restaurateurs

During the preparation of the publication, Delfi spoke with several restaurateurs working in Lithuania, who claimed that for several years they had heard complaints from residents of various European countries regarding the activities of K.V.

According to Delfi sources, K. V., who introduced himself as a restorer, took the cars from potential customers, dismantled them, sold the parts, and demanded that car owners pay in advance for the work they were doing.

Many cars brought by K.V are currently in various Lithuanian workshops, they remained there due to the fact that the Lithuanian was unable to pay for the services provided, several cars have been transported to Latvia and are being restored there.

“Such things need to be publicized and brought to light, because this is the place for all of Lithuania,” said one of Delfi’s interviewed restaurateurs.