Car recycling company owner accused of vehicle thefts in Winnipeg by tow trucks: court filing

Court records are giving a glimpse at who authorities believe are behind a rash of vehicle thefts involving tow trucks in Winnipeg. CTV’s Harrison Shin reports.

After a rash of vehicle thefts involving tow trucks, a new court filing is providing more details on the alleged crimes and naming the owner of a vehicle recycling company as the target of a Winnipeg police investigation.

A statement of claim filed last Tuesday by the director of the province’s criminal property forfeiture names Cory Ronnie James Fincaryk, 48, and his company, Winnipeg Auto Recycling, in connection to multiple vehicle thefts and seeks to seize his assets.

According to the claim filed in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, Fincaryk and his unnamed employees were involved in the thefts of at least nine vehicles between July 2 and July 14 in Winnipeg.

The documents said the vehicles were towed to a property in East St. Paul, where Fincaryk or his employees would break windows, dent body panels and paint ”WAR”—the acronym for the company’s name—on the vehicles in order to make them look like scrap vehicles.

Teah Sawa’s van was stolen by a tow truck from her Transcona street on July 15. She was able to take photos of her van after it was recovered the next day.

“It was shocking to see the van. It was completely crushed,” said Sawa. “The roof was on the floor. It looked like someone had dropped a steel beam right down the middle of it.”

One photo shows the “WAR” acronym painted on the passenger-side door.

Between June and July 2025, Winnipeg Auto Recycling allegedly sold 62 vehicles to a scrap recycling company as scrap vehicles for approximately $40,000, per the filing.

CTV News previously covered cases of vehicle thefts in Winnipeg earlier this month by a tow truck—including footage of the alleged thefts caught on surveillance cameras.

Jason Schritt’s truck was stolen in the same manner on July 11. He said Winnipeg police told him the truck was also demolished.

“I asked him if I could come in and identify my vehicle or anything, and he just said it was unidentifiable because it was crushed and scrapped,” said Schritt.

On July 16, the Winnipeg Police Service arrested two individuals and seized two tow trucks believed to be connected to vehicle thefts in the Transcona area.

“Throughout their investigation, police determined that the defendant Fincaryk and/or employees of Winnipeg Auto Recycling were stealing vehicles, damaging them, and selling them to (a scrap recycling company) as scrap vehicles,” said Lisa Bryce, the forfeiture office’s manager of administrative forfeiture, in an affidavit.

On July 15, police watched an employee of Winnipeg Auto Recycling tow a stolen 2007 Nissan Quest from the East St. Paul property to a scrap recycling company and sell it. The employee later returned to the East St. Paul property and picked up a stolen GMC Terrain but was arrested at the scrap recycling company, per the court filing.

Search warrants were obtained by the police for the tow truck and the East St. Paul property, leading to the discovery of another tow truck, a vehicle reported stolen and license plates of two vehicles reported stolen all from July 14, according to the court filing.

In one of the tow trucks, the court documents allege police also discovered multiple catalytic converters, four motor vehicle batteries, licence plates for two vehicles reported stolen and a logbook listing scrapped vehicles since October 2024.

Fincaryk was arrested on July 16 and charged with nine counts of motor vehicle theft and five counts of mischief over $5,000, per the court filing.

Fincaryk and his employees sold over 17 million pounds of vehicles to a scrap recycling company between January 2017 and May 2024, according to the claim, resulting in his company receiving over $3 million.

“Some of the vehicles sold by the defendant Fincaryk and/or employees of Winnipeg Auto Recycling to (the scrap recycling company) between 2017 and 2025 had been stolen,” reads the statement of claim.

The lawsuit lists Fincaryk and his associated companies as defendants, including Winnipeg Auto Recycling and multiple financial institutions where he has accounts. Fincaryk has not yet filed a statement of defence.

The court filing aims to allow the provincial government to retain two tow trucks, a pickup truck, a trailer, money from Fincaryk’s business and personal bank accounts and Fincaryk’s house—separate from the East St. Paul property—under The Criminal Property Forfeiture Act.

A person who did not want to be identified answered a phone number for Winnipeg Auto Recycling, saying the employee involved had been fired. They said the situation has been “rectified” and did not want to comment further.

Winnipeg Police would not provide more details, saying the investigation is ongoing.

None of the claims have been tested in court.

-With files from CTV’s Harrison Shin