The co-owner of a well-liked Houston fried chicken joint knowingly sold a stolen vintage Ferrari, the unwitting Manhattan buyer claims in a lawsuit.
Joachim Vaturi, 24, plunked down a winning bid of $72,500 during a July 3 online auction at Bringatrailer.com to take home the vehicle, a 1996 456 GT 6-speed.
“Been in search of a green/tan manual 456 for the higher a part of 3 years,” Vaturi wrote on the web page after winning the Ferrari. “After I get it mechanically sorted, it’ll get driven driven driven.”
The vendor, Houston Crosta — who co-owns the fast-growing Houston’s Hot Chicken brand — bought the Ferrari in April and had claimed within the listing that it had a “clean Carfax report and a clean Nevada title.”
But he didn’t mention the English green automotive with tan leather interior had been nipped from a previous owner in Italy, Vaturi contends in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
Vaturi claims he discovered the deception a few weeks after his purchase, when his mechanic tried to get parts and learned the automotive had been listed as “stolen” by Ferrari and was “subject to recall,” in keeping with the litigation.
He reached out to Crosta, who admitted via text, “October 1995 in Italy it was stolen,” Vaturi charged in court papers.
He claims Crosta has refused to provide him a refund, and is suing to get his money back.
The co-owner of a well-liked Houston fried chicken joint knowingly sold a stolen vintage Ferrari, the unwitting Manhattan buyer claims in a lawsuit.
Joachim Vaturi, 24, plunked down a winning bid of $72,500 during a July 3 online auction at Bringatrailer.com to take home the vehicle, a 1996 456 GT 6-speed.
“Been in search of a green/tan manual 456 for the higher a part of 3 years,” Vaturi wrote on the web page after winning the Ferrari. “After I get it mechanically sorted, it’ll get driven driven driven.”
The vendor, Houston Crosta — who co-owns the fast-growing Houston’s Hot Chicken brand — bought the Ferrari in April and had claimed within the listing that it had a “clean Carfax report and a clean Nevada title.”
But he didn’t mention the English green automotive with tan leather interior had been nipped from a previous owner in Italy, Vaturi contends in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
Vaturi claims he discovered the deception a few weeks after his purchase, when his mechanic tried to get parts and learned the automotive had been listed as “stolen” by Ferrari and was “subject to recall,” in keeping with the litigation.
He reached out to Crosta, who admitted via text, “October 1995 in Italy it was stolen,” Vaturi charged in court papers.
He claims Crosta has refused to provide him a refund, and is suing to get his money back.
