Judge says 11 people resold vehicles reported stolen to public auto insurer

VANCOUVER – A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ordered 11 people and a company to pay about $850,000 in damages for a scheme that involved stolen vehicles being resold to the public.

At issue were 12 vehicles that were reported stolen to the Insurance Corp. of B.C. in 2002 and 2003.

Judge Austin Cullen says the vehicles were given false vehicle identification numbers and ownership histories and resold after the provincial auto insurer was notified of their theft.

The harshest punishment went to Harpreet Awla, who was fined $182,496 and ordered to pay $60,000 in punitive damages for his role in the setup.

Cheri Kostynick received a $127,341 fine for her participation.

Vikram Atwal must pay a fine of $102,815 and $20,000 in punitive damages, while a Burnaby company was fined about $17,600 for its part in the scheme.