The owner of the since-shuttered EuroMasters Classic Cars in
Fountain Valley is scheduled to be arraigned in Santa Ana this morning for allegedly embezzling the sale proceeds of rare and vintage vehicles sold on
consignment.
John Calicchio, 63, of Costa Mesa, could be garaged in state prison for 17 years with a conviction on the laundry list of serious charges against him.
]
See also:
Kainat Syeda, Anaheim Police Cadet Accused of Embezzling $225,000 in Vehicle Impound Fees
James Harry Fluch Accused of Embezzling $822,000 From Buddy's Business to Fund Lavish Lifestyle
Ryan Sheckler's Truck, an Alleged Teen Thief and a Deputy-Involved Shooting
Between June 2010 and October 2011, Calicchio allegedly entered into agreements with vintage Porsche owners to sell their vehicles on consignment but pocketed proceeds from the sales that ranged from $25,000 to $47,000 per car. He is further accused of defrauding the buyers, who could not obtain titles to the Porsches because the real owners were never
paid through the consignment sales.
Calicchio closed EuroMasters in October 2011, filing for bankruptcy in an
attempt to discharge the debts owed to the owners and purchasers of
vehicles he sold on consignment, according to a statement from the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA).
Various online sources show Calicchio and his EuroMasters office manager, Andrea Gros, later opened South Coast Electric Cars on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa. That business is not mentioned in the OCDA statement, which does reveal the Fountain Valley Police Department investigated EuroMasters and arrested Calicchio Tuesday.
He is charged with 14 counts
of embezzlement by fiduciary of trust, five counts of grand theft by
false pretenses, two counts of diversion of funds, and four counts of
money laundering with sentencing enhancement allegations for aggravated
white collar crime over $100,000 and loss over $200,000.
Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.