BUFFALO, N.Y. — James P. Kennedy Jr. of the U.S. Attorney's Office says planes and fighters jets have been forfeited at the Peace Bridge before, but never what they seized in December of 2019.
"This is the first of its kind in terms of a very high-end, luxury vehicle, and this Ferrari," Kennedy said.
It's a first for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and a first for the U.S. District Attorney's Office who is now trying to determine the rightful owner.
It was seized at the Peace Bridge over a year ago after CBP noticed the VIN on the dashboard had been altered.
"That drew their attention, and they decided they wanted to hold onto the vehicle, because it's obviously unlawful to import stolen vehicles. It's even unlawful to import vehicles that have altered VINs," Kennedy said.
They discovered the Ferrari had been stolen from a parking garage in Northern Italy back in 2003.
According to the civil complaint, it was on a car carrier headed for Miami to Mohammed Alsaloussi. He says he bought the car online for $1.4 million.
Alsaloussi filed one complaint on behalf of himself and another through his business to get it back.
The other claimant is the original Italian owner, Paolo Provenzi. Provenzi provided documentation showing he bought the car for 260,000 euros a month before it was stolen, according to the civil complaint.
Now it's up to a federal judge to decide who the rightful owner is, but how long will it take?
"I don't know that. I'm sure there will be discovery as with any lawsuit, and it will be decided from there," Kennedy said.
In the 18 years it's been gone, the Ferrari only put on a little over 10,000 miles.
Kennedy says the U.S. District Attorney's Office has not discovered yet how the Ferrari got to Canada but he's hopeful the investigation will uncover more.