Informant charged in cash-for-cars fraud

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This article was published 24/11/2009 (6143 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A secret agent who infiltrated the Manitoba Hells Angels has been charged with pulling off a major cash-for-cars fraud while living under a new identity in the witness-protection program.

Franco Atanasovic is facing criminal charges in a province outside Manitoba after several of his acquaintances claimed he’d ripped them off over the past three years. Several alleged victims also contacted prominent lawyer Hersh Wolch for possible civil action.

“These were all people who trusted him,” Wolch told the Free Press. He represents five people who each gave Atanasovic tens of thousands of dollars on the belief he would deliver a vehicle to them from the U.S. at a discounted rate. It’s alleged the money was paid but the goods were never received.

Atanasovic, 49 — who now goes by a different name — didn’t disclose anything about his shady past, Wolch said. “They believed he was in the business of bringing cars into Canada. He was living in a decent home, presenting himself as a businessman and a family man. If they would have known who he really was, they never would have trusted him.”

Members of the Hells Angels were singing a similar tune in 2006 after learning Atanasovic had been secretly working for the police and captured numerous drug deals on audio and video surveillance. The career criminal was paid $525,000 for his work. He testified under heavy security in the trials of full-patch members Ian Grant and Ernie Dew. Grant was convicted and sentenced to 17 years in prison. Dew was also found guilty and got eight-and-a-half years but recently won a new trial on appeal.

“It will be interesting to see how (his arrest) impacts that case,” said one Manitoba justice source.

Prosecutors likely aren’t worried. They didn’t hide the fact Atanasovic had a nefarious past and even revealed during Grant’s trial that he had stolen some of the “bait” money police gave him to purchase drugs. However, the evidence he allowed police to collect was solid and led to nearly a dozen other suspects pleading guilty.

The Free Press interviewed Atanasovic in 2006 while he was in witness protection. He believed justice officials had undermined his reputation by casting him as a liar and criminal in court.

“I’m rich all right… my life is ruined,” he said in the telephone interview from an undisclosed location. “They’re making me look like the bad guy here.”

Atanasovic is no stranger to civil disputes. He was facing more than $100,000 in court judgments at the time he got involved in the sting operation. The lawsuits stemmed from former friends in Manitoba and Alberta who said Atanasovic bilked them over phony motorcycle sales and business deals.

Wolch said the RCMP may have hesitated to investigate Atanasovic for the latest incidents, allowing him to continue to defraud victims, because he was their prize witness.

“We’d like to have a look to see if anyone was deterred from making a complaint against him by the police,” he said.

Atanasovic was charged earlier this month and his case remains before the courts. None of the allegations have been proven and he is presumed innocent.

www.mikeoncrime.com