FRAUD REPORT

1. What happened:
Darren Foley, owner of Nuclear Motorsports has defrauded me of $50, 300.00 CAD, over the course of 6 months, with no intention to repay the debt.
2. Where it happened:
Nuclear Motorsports, 340 Woodlawn W, Guelph, Ontario N1H 7K6.
3. When it happened:
Started sometime in November 2007 to Friday, April 25th, 2007.
4. Who was involved:
• Perpetrators: Darren Foley, owner of Nuclear Motorsports. Corey, employee of Nuclear Motorsports. Sean, hangs out at Nuclear Motorsports.
5. How ...:

How It Started:

November 2007 -- Darren offered his services of customization and restoration of my vehicle, a 1984 Pontiac Grand Prix. Service included replacing the engine, transmission, rear end, shocks, frame rails, all engine components and any other related upgrades. He took payments (in the form of certified bank drafts – copies available) for parts which were supposedly ordered from Summit Racing in the U.S. He issued hand written description of the parts that were necessary to perform the work along with prices of the parts, and asked for me to pay for these parts up front. He also signed all papers. The total verifiable amount given to Darren was $50, 300.00 (fifty thousand, three hundred dollars) – it was actually a bit more than this. It was $47, 538.00 for mechanical parts (documented and signed by Darren, along with bank draft copies), and $4, 441.00 for the body kit (not documented but verifiable with bank draft copies), for a grand total of $51, 979.00 CAD.

Darren said he will be able to save me money on customs charges with his “broker guy” in the U.S. if he picked up all the parts from Summit Motorsports when he went on Vacation in December. He said on his way back, he would load all the parts on his truck and bring them back. Parts included aluminum high performance heads, a supercharger, a BDS electronic fuel injection system, steel braided brake lines, stainless steel exhaust components, high volume electric fuel pump, 700R4 4 speed automatic high performance transmission, 3500 stall converter, clear chrome brake lights, polished aluminum wheels, and more components -- the details of all parts and the total paid for the parts are attached (in Darren’s hand writing).
Darren also informed me that he had a “body guy” that he knew of, that would do work on the body of my car. He was referring to Terrence Saunders, owner of Saunder’s Customs, a body shop in Acton. Darren said that Terrence would likely require a deposit for work performed. He asked me to pay him a $5000 deposit, and to “keep it between us” for the bodywork and paint, and that he would deal with Terrence regarding the costs of the bodywork in order to save me money.

In November, while in his shop, he ordered the body kit that I specifically required (supposedly) from a supplier in California. He informed me the total for this kit would be $1, 641.00 CAD. A witness, Terrence Saunders, owner of Saunders Customs, and his girlfriend Tracy, were also in the shop at this time and can verify this call. I told Darren that I had looked everywhere for this particular body kit and my only result was a body shop in Toronto that would do it for $10, 000.00. Two days after I paid this amount ($1, 641.00), Darren called me and said the total had changed to $5000.00, and that the price was a mistake due to miscommunication. He said he would absorb the cost and “only” needed an additional $2800.00 CAD for this kit to be shipped. I paid this amount to Darren as well.

Darren said I was welcome to call him at any time, or to visit his shop at any time, even if I felt like “hanging out” – I was welcome to come over anytime I wanted.

After the Vacation -- No Parts, More Lies:

Darren returned from his vacation in early January with no parts. He called me and said there were too many parts to fit in his truck, and that the Summit Racing shipping guy was going to ship all the parts in “cardboard boxes” and mark them as “used” in order to save me additional money in duties and taxes, and that the brokerage fees would be very cheap. When I asked him when these parts would come in, he told “January 17th.” I waited ‘till January 17 and called Darren to get the status of the shipment, he told me that the parts were shipped, and “sitting at the border” with his “brokerage guy” and that all he had to do was go and pick them up with his truck. He said he would go down” tomorrow” to pick them up, “depending on the weather” – as there was a lot of snow covered roads, and he didn’t want to drive in unsafe conditions.

The final story he was giving me -- was that the parts were indeed picked up by his “warehouse guy” in London, and that all the parts were at the warehouse in London, and only needed to be picked up from there.
Sometime in February the main phone number for Nuclear Motorsports was disconnected. I eventually reached Darren on his cell phone, and he informed me that there was a flood in his shop and that the main fuse box with the phone lines got screwed up, and that they were waiting on repairs to get the phone line back up. In the mean time he was taking all his phone calls on his cell phone, and had called and advised all his customers to contact him on his cell phone.

A week passed by, and each time I contacted Darren to find out the status of the parts, he gave me a new story – one day his back was out, another day he had to take his son to the hospital for a heart condition, another day he was involved in a rear-end accident, another day his truck was not working because there was a problem with his transmission, etc, etc.. About the body kit that was supposedly ordered, he informed me that they sent the wrong kit, and that the side pieces were for the 4-door version of the Grand Prix. I informed Darren that this model of vehicle is only available in 2-door. He said they were the wrong pieces anyhow and were shipped back, but the back piece and the front piece were there.

The Phone Call to His Warehouse:

I had asked him for some kind of verification at least, some kind of tracking number, faxes, customs papers, receipts, even a phone call to his so-called “warehouse guy” in London. The only thing he did was call his warehouse guy (supposedly) in front of me in his office, to verify that the parts were there – he offered the phone to me to speak with this person directly, but I declined. He never provided any documentation about these parts, only verbal promises that the parts were there.

Some time in February Darren offered me a personal cheque for $5000.00, post dated for one week. He said that if the body kit wasn’t here in a week, that I could cash the cheque and that the “funds were there.” He also offered me another personal cheque for $20, 000.00 posted dated to May 24, 2008. He said that if my car was not “done” by May 24th, that I could cash that cheque as well, and the funds were there. I declined both cheques for obvious reasons. I knew there were no funds and that this was just another gimmick to buy more time.

I then questioned Darren, and called his bluff so to speak, and said to him one day that if the parts were in London, “let’s go pick them up, ” or we will drive together in my own car, so I could at least see the parts for myself, to verify that they were actually there. I pushed him to find a day he was free and available to make the trip, until finally he called me into his office and admitted that there was no body kit at the warehouse, and that it was never ordered. He said he lied to me about the body kit because since he had taken my money, the supplier “backed out” and said “they wouldn’t do it, because it was too complicated.” He said he lied because he didn’t want to “look like a fool.” He insisted that the other parts, however, were still all there.

The Promise to Pay me Back:

At this point I asked Darren for my money back. Surprisingly, he agreed to pay me back all the money for the parts, as long as I still “buy” these parts when they came in, that were supposedly in a warehouse in London. I agreed to his terms verbally. Darren informed me that his uncle was going to give him the money to pay me back. I was to give him 2 days to get the money. Darren puts it in writing: He will pay me back $50, 300.00 in full. He and his worker Corey signed and dated the paper.

Two days later Daren informs me that his uncle is “in England” but his “finance guy” is in Toronto, and that this finance guy was supposed to take an inventory of his stock and collect paperwork showing collateral, in order for his uncle to give him the funds to pay me back.

Another couple days pass, Darren tells me he can’t get a hold of the finance guy. He tells me that the guy is “on his way to the shop right now, but he’s coming from Mississauga.” He says he will inform me and let me know when he arrives. I agree and inform Darren that I want to be present when this finance guy gets there. Around 7:00pm after having received no phone call from Darren I head up to his shop, and meet Terrence and his girlfriend Tracy outside (just leaving Darren’s shop). Terrence tells me that he just asked Darren what’s going on with this situation (about him getting a loan to pay me back). He tells me that Darren said that he’s “waiting for this guy to show up.”

I then go on into Darren’s shop and ask him about the situation. Darren tells me that this guy already came by and left (he was unaware that I had just touched base with Terrence). Darren tells me that he took an inventory of his shop and assets and is preparing to get him the funds to pay me back, that it would take another couple days to get these funds, and in the mean time, he offered me $1000 cash, and 3 vehicle ownerships to hang onto. He signed these ownerships on the back. The ownerships are for:

1. 1989 BMW 25I (VIN: WBAAD2308K8846698, Owner’s name: Wendy A. Hilliker)
2. 1981 Ford F35 (VIN: 2FDJF37EXBCA46559, Owner’s name: Larry Christopher Morrish)
3. 1977 Chevy Silverado (VIN: CCL4471149430 Owner’s name: Anthony Pomersbach Adam Daniel)

I accepted the three ownerships and the $1000 cash and left.

Weeks passed by and each time there was a different story. Apparently his uncle wasn’t answering his phone calls for a while. Then he “found out” that his uncle “changed his mind” and didn’t want to help him with the loan. Then he was getting a loan from some performance shop across the street, to whom he had given his snow plow as collateral. The final situation was that he was seeing a loan shark from Toronto -- he was getting the money to pay me back and also enough money to pay for his expenses and also enough money for him to purchase a Dodge Dart from Texas (voicemail saved on my cell phone with Darren’s voice confirming this). He kept telling me that “everything is good, I can guarantee you that you will have all the money, ” but for one reason after another, there was a delay. One delay was that the loan shark had to deal with some situation that was more important and had to postpone the appointment.

The Accusation of Being Followed:
One day I called Darren’s cell phone, it was answered by his worker in the shop, Corey (last name unknown). Corey said that Darren was “out getting parts” and was going to return shortly. Darren was supposed to call me the previous day, and I had not heard from him at all. I began to explain to Corey that this situation is getting tiring and that I knew that Darren was simply avoiding me by leaving his cell phone with him. Corey began to raise his voice and then started shouting, telling “Don’t fuck with me” as well as an unlimited number of curse words and insults. Angered by this situation, I drove to the shop to confront Corey. Corey informed me that he was the one to order the body kit, and also the BDS Fuel Injection system that was on backorder. He did not seem to have the time to talk to me, and informed me that he was busy working on the front end of a red pick up truck. I informed Corey that I had paid more than $50, 000.00, not the owner of this old rusty pickup truck, and that he and Darren should be dealing with me, not making up stories or working on other people’s vehicles. Then Corey informed me that he was with Darren “last night” and they were both at some loan shark’s office “on Elizabeth street” and accused me of following him. He said he knew what my car looked like and he knew that I was following him the previous night. This was an absurd accusation, as I had been busy all day the previous day – and the reason for all the fuss on this day was because I had not heard from Darren about the money. I left the shop after this conversation.

More time passed. Getting really, really, sick and tired of all the lies, I called Darren on Thursday April 24th, 2008, and demanded for him to stop with the BS lies and to start paying me back some money that he owes. He said to me that I will have all my money by the next morning (Friday, April 25th, 2008). He said that he would call me by 11:00am Friday morning and let me know where to come and pick up all the money.

The Phone Call From Halton Regional Police -- Officer Best:

On the morning of Friday, April 25th, around 11:40am, Officer Best from the Halton police department calls my cell phone and informs me that there had been a complaint from Darren Foley about receiving “threats, ” and that Darren was afraid for the safety of his family. Officer Best informed me that Darren recently had a vehicle that was vandalized, and that Darren said that I was behind it. I was also told that Darren reported being followed by me. Officer Best then allowed me to fill him in on the whole story. Officer Best then suggested that I take civil action against Darren and his business, and to not communicate with Darren any further without an attorney. Officer Best said that he wants nothing else to do with this situation, and that he will be closing this case and filing the report away after this phone call. I agreed and we hung up.

To this date, Darren has NEVER provided any documentation about any parts that were supposedly ordered, and has never produced a single part.
Conclusion:

I believe Darren should pay me the money he took from me ($50, 300.00), plus attorney’s fees, punitive damages and lost time. Darren promised me that my car would be completely done by March 1st, 2008, and ready for a car show on this date. Instead, nothing was done except for taking my money. He has, however, entered his own car (his prized Monte Carlo) in the car show. I believe he has used my money for his own car and expenses, and also for his 2 week vacation to Florida in December. This man has willingly and knowingly defrauded several people in similar fashion and deserves to be charged, prosecuted and thrown in jail.

The Business Opportunity Offer:

Sometime in November Darren called me into his shop and asked me if I wanted to invest $20, 000.00 into his business. He said that I would be able to take part in the profits. I declined the offer.

Illegal Operations:

Neither Darren, nor his worker Corey, posses registered mechanics licenses. Yet they perform vehicle service and repairs including brakes, exhaust, suspension, etc.. on customer vehicles on a daily basis.

The Vandalised Mustang:

Some time in January or February, while I was still expecting my parts, Darren called me and informed me that his mustang had been vandalized. Prior to this, I did not even know that he owned a mustang. He told me that his mustang was “trashed” and that the interior and seats were “ripped up, ” and that he was busy reporting it to the police. At the time I believed this to be just another excuse as to why he could not go and pick up my parts from his so called warehouse guy. Later on, I found out from Terrence that he was getting an insurance claim and was getting Terrence to do the body and paint. We speculated that he had done this vandalism himself as an insurance scam, but could not prove it. We also speculated that it could have been done by one of the many others who have been ripped off by Darren.

The Fraudulent Sale of a Vehicle:

Terrence informed me that Darren had sold him a truck. Terrence picked up the truck and towed it to his shop on his flatbed. As this truck was parked on his property (outside), the “real” owner of this truck saw it, and confronted Terrence, angered, and asked what the hell was going on. Terrence informed him that he had just bought the truck from Darren. The owner said he was under the impression that his truck was parked at Nuclear Motorsports and that he was “planning on” selling it. It turns out, Darren had sold it to Terrence on this man’s behalf without his permission, and was attempting to make a profit from its sale.

The Fraudulent Paintwork Project on 69 Camaro:

Terrence recently completed a bodywork and paint project for Darren on a 69 Camaro. He painted it metallic blue with metal flake. Darren asked Terrence for a $3000 paint job. He told the owner of this car that the cost was $8000. To this day, this camaro is parked in Darren’s shop, as he will not release it to the owner until he gets his $8000 in full. The owner of the car has since touched base with Terrence and knows that the paintjob is really valued at $3000.00 – not $8000.00.

Some Background Information:

Darren Foley is the son of a former Halton police officer, and believes himself to have courtesy from the Halton Police Department. Perhaps he believes he is immune to criminal prosecution and free to defraud people without getting caught.
Darren has been careful to place all his assets under the names of other people, such as his parents, or his girlfriend. At one point, Darren mentioned that his business (Nuclear Motorsports) is under his girlfriend’s name. Darren’s current girlfriend is Ginger Hodgson Klotz.

Additional Reports:

For other people that were ripped off by Darren Foley and Nuclear Motorsports, please see the website, http://www.nuclearmotorsports.com, and post if you are a victim!