Marty Bakalinsky didn’t want the hassle of selling his vehicle on his own. It was just too much trouble.
Marty has multiple sclerosis and is no longer able to drive, so he figured he’d enlist the help of a middle man to sell his vehicle. He was asking $18,000.
“I’m out of work now because of my disability. I’ve got two kids that are going to school and that’s where the money was to go,” he told W5 in a recent interview.
So he called Treadz, a Calgary-based car dealership that took vehicles on consignment – all Marty had to do was pay a $299 fee, and Treadz would handle all aspects of the sale. Marty would get the money within 10 business days after the truck was sold.
Marty felt he had nothing to worry about. After all, Treadz was listed with the Better Business Bureau and more importantly, its owner, Sean O’Brien, was licensed by AMVIC, the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council- the province’s automotive sales watchdog.
The truck sold but Marty never got his money. All he got was a familiar refrain: the check is in the mail.
Marty was not alone. In all, approximately 120 car owners turned their vehicles over to Treadz on consignment, but they never got the money or their vehicles back -- and now these consumers are out a total of $1.6 million.
Like Marty, many victims of Treadz turned to AMVIC for help, and investigator Owen Michaluk, a former detective with the Calgary Police Service with a background in fraud investigations, was assigned the case.
It didn’t take long before Owen says he smelled a rat, but instead of being allowed to pursue the matter aggressively, he was pulled off the case by senior management at AMVIC.
“I was basically gagged. I was told to stop my investigation. I was to turn over all my notes, all my information, and refer all inquiries from these victims to management,” Michaluk said in an interview.
He added that the decision to stop the investigation handcuffed him. “It was shut down prematurely.” And soon after, he says he was fired.
When Treadz victims tried to get answers from AMVIC management, they were simply told the case was closed and it would take at least three years before they might see some compensation.
What the victims did not know, however, is that the owner of Treadz, Sean O’Brien, had a shady past that AMVIC was well aware of when it issued him a license to sell automobiles.
In its investigation, W5 found court records in British Columbia showing that in 1993, instead of selling cars, O’Brien was stealing them. He was convicted on 21 charges and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Moreover, W5 obtained a copy of O’Brien’s application to AMVIC for a license in which he admits in his own handwriting to 163 car theft related charges and serving jail time.
W5 requested an interview with Sean O’Brien about what happened to the money at Treadz but he had no comment. “I’ve been advised not to talk about it. Unfortunately I can’t talk about any of that.”
W5 asked AMVIC’s Executive Director John Bachinski for an interview about AMVIC’s handling of the Treadz matter. But he refused. AMVIC instead sent an email quoting John Bachinski, “We at AMVIC are committed to protecting automotive consumers wherever possible within our delegated authority. Although we would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter, as Treadz is under investigation by Calgary Police and as there is a civil lawsuit currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time.”
W5 caught up with Bachinski in Old Montreal at a posh boutique hotel where he was attending a meeting of provincial automobile sales regulators.
The topic: consumer protection!
Yet he still had no comment for W5, saying: “You know it would be inappropriate for me to make a comment at this time. It’s before the courts.” Too busy and not willing to talk about Alberta consumers who have been victimized by Treadz.
Although AMVIC has closed the file, the Calgary Police Service is currently investigating Treadz.
Update:
In July 2016 Sean O’Brien was charged with 164 counts of fraud and theft, accused of defrauding customers and creditors out of more than two million dollars. O’Brien is scheduled to appear in a Calgary court in October to enter a plea.
In April 2016 the Alberta government amended the Fair Trading Act to allow greater control over the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC).
In August 206 the Alberta government appointed the former mayor of Spruce Grove, Alberta, to lead a review into AMVIC. George Cuff has been asked to look into the effectiveness of the operations and governance of AMVIC and whether the industry watchdog is meeting its mandate to protect consumers. He will also review the use of AMVIC’s compensation fund and whether it helps victimized consumers.
