Toronto, Ontario — The Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) has issued a response to York Regional Police’s allegations that towing companies charged in the recent execution of Project Platinum worked alongside auto repair shops to carry out their fraud schemes.
The Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) says while it is encouraging to see justice served to culprits hiding within the automotive sector, the actions of these individuals certainly do not represent the collision repair community as a whole.
“The activities have no place in society, let alone within the automotive sector,” said the organization in an emailed statement to Collision Repair. “These charges laid against the participants in the alleged organized crime, do not represent the approximately 4,900 collision centres, who as an essential service, have been supporting customers to have their vehicles repaired in the safest and most expedient fashion possible, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.”
On Tuesday, York Regional Police revealed it had been working to identify several organized crime groups working within the towing industry and had discovered Paramount Towing owner Alexander Vinogradsky had been involved in defrauding insurance companies with vehicles involved in collisions and staged collisions.
