A simple test drive turned into an elaborate con. A man listed his used car on Facebook Marketplace, and a buyer agreed to meet. During the test drive, the suspect poured engine oil all over the engine while an accomplice distracted the owner. Smoke billowed, and the con artists claimed the engine was blown and leaking oil—slashing the car's value dramatically.
Fooled by the staged disaster, the victim sold the vehicle for far less than the asking price. Days later, the same car reappeared on Facebook Marketplace at nearly its original value. But this time, the odometer had been tampered with, showing only half the legitimate mileage. The scam was a carefully orchestrated theft.
Police arrested Mogos Constantin, a 38-year-old Romanian national who also goes by Catalin Ionascu. He faces charges including fraud over $5,000, mischief, and odometer tampering. Constantin was already wanted on multiple warrants by the San Jose Police Department in California. He was held pending a bail hearing.
But the criminal activity didn't stop there. In a separate incident, a morning commute turned violent in seconds. A man was shoved as he left Union Station in Toronto around 8:14 a.m. He crashed to the ground, sustaining serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect fled on foot, walking south on Bay Street. He is described as white, about 5-foot-6, with brown hair, wearing a dark jacket. Police are desperate to identify him before he strikes again.
