Mount Pearl man accused of fraud, stashing $1 million in Icelandic bank account
Philip Chancey denies all wrongdoing in failed electric vehicle dealerships
Jerome Groves thought he'd stumbled across the business deal of a lifetime when he met Philip Chancey at a used-car lot in the spring of 2016.
Now he wishes they'd never crossed paths at all.
"I guess I got took for a fool. I don't like to admit that, but I guess it is what it is."
Groves says Chancey told him he owned a company called EVM Rentals and was looking for people to buy shares and open electric vehicle dealerships.
Groves said he was interested, and within a few days, the requests for money began.
Within a year, Groves was staving off bankruptcy and, due to the stress, had a heart attack. No dealership has ever materialized, and Groves figures he's out more than $50,000.
In a letter addressed to CBC News, Chancey denied any wrongdoing and said he's still close to getting financing to start the business.
Groves said that's the same story he's been hearing for three years. In March, he filed a fraud complaint with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.
History of complaints and a big new suit
Court records show Chancey has been taken to small claims court at least 12 times, for amounts between $375 and $7,752. Seven of those cases are still active and unresolved, two were withdrawn and one was dismissed.
He has also been sued five times in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.
After Chancey showed Groves a portfolio of paperwork with promotional material and explanations of the business, he gave Chancey $36,000 in two separate payments in May and June 2016.
Between those two transfers was another payment — $40,000 US.
The defendants negligently and/or fraudulently misrepresented their ability to broker the sale.- Lawsuit filed by Cox Automotive
Groves said he later had concerns about the deal being legitimate, and began to worry when their plans didn't move ahead.
Chancey said the business never got off the ground because a financier backed out. He maintains it was a legitimate business plan, and no part of the deal was misrepresented to entice Groves to put up money.
Records show Chancey incorporated the numbered company behind EVM Rentals on the same day as another company, Timber Creek Holdings.
Sued by leasing giant
Court action and allegations of misconduct have dogged Chancey and his businesses since the 1980s, but the largest civil lawsuit of his life was started last month.
Both Chancey and Timber Creek Holdings are named in a lawsuit by a North American leasing giant for close to $1 million — and there are concerns the money might already be out of the country.
"Cox Automotive has reason to believe the funds have been removed from this Honourable Court's jurisdiction and wired to a bank account in Iceland," reads a document filed with the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In a statement of defence filed at the court, Chancey said he needed more time to deliver the vehicles, and accused Cox Automotive of breaching contract by asking for its money back before the deal was finished.
Seized cars at a discount?
Cox Automotive says it was approached by Chancey with a proposal to sell the company 744 cars seized at the border between the United States and Canada at about 40 per cent of their listed value.
The company was interested in his offer, and paid a $1,000 US deposit for each vehicle on Dec. 17, 2018.
After two weeks passed, Cox Automotive began calling on Chancey about the status of the vehicles.
On Jan. 18, Chancey told them he'd give their money back with interest, but it was never sent.
"The defendants negligently and/or fraudulently misrepresented their ability to broker the sale of the aforementioned vehicles to Cox Automotive," the lawsuit reads.
A representative of Cox Automotive travelled to Mount Pearl twice in March to meet with Chancey. During one visit, he said, Chancey showed him a statement for a bank account in Iceland containing $776,000 US.
Worried their money has been transferred outside the jurisdiction of Canadian courts, Cox Automotive has filed an application in Newfoundland and Labrador to freeze his assets.
When approached by CBC News, Chancey refused to answer any questions on the matter. None of the allegations have been tested in court.
American motor company denies relationship
Jerome Groves stutters and sweats recalling the details of how the deal played out.
He shared his paperwork with CBC News.
Inside the file folder, several promotional handouts show products made by an American company, ViaMotors, with the EVM Rentals logo placed underneath it.
CBC News contacted the president of ViaMotors, Alan Perriton, who said there was never a business relationship between his company and EVM Rentals, or Philip Chancey.
Perriton said the company's email database shows some emails sent by Chancey to a regional salesperson, but the conversation ended with a rejection before Chancey and Groves even met.
Chancey provided CBC News with copies of some emails, which show discussions around costs and plans. Those emails are dated 2015, a year before Chancey and Groves ran into each other at a used-car lot.
He said there is more correspondence, but it is protected by a non-disclosure agreement.
Perriton said ViaMotors has no interest in selling its products in Canada, citing differences in regulations between the two countries making it impossible.
Groves blames near-death experience on stress
A few months after making his investment and signing a contract, Groves had seen no movement on the dealership.
After demanding to get his money back, Groves said he got most of the $36,000 returned, but none of the $40,000 US he put up.
Chancey told CBC News he offered to return the money if Groves returned the shares.
Groves said when the exchange was set to take place, Chancey told him the money was tied up by the Canada Revenue Agency.
A heavy-equipment operator by trade, Groves found himself out of work after the deal was signed.
He fell behind on payments for his truck and his cabin, and stress began mounting.
It came to a head on Nov. 12, 2016, when he took a phone call from a bill collector while driving home.
"I felt like I had to throw up. I started having sweats."
He pulled over and threw up, before rushing to the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's. He was having a heart attack.
"I thought I was gone," he said through tears. "I didn't think I was going to live."
Complaints made to police
Groves is not alone in filing a complaint with the police. CBC News has learned a second person has filed a complaint about a similar business deal with Chancey in 2008, in which more than $100,000 changed hands with a company called Buy the Time EV Rentals.
Documents show a contract was signed with a company agreeing to become a dealer for the vehicles, and Chancey's company signed on to be the distributor. While money changed hands, no dealership was ever started.
In a letter to CBC News, Chancey said the collapse of the American economy, along with huge startup costs, precipitated the failure of their plan.
'Playing catchup'
Groves hopes the police will take his complaint seriously.
He's managed to hang on to his cabin and his truck, though the latter was briefly repossessed by the bank. Chancey said he helped Groves get the truck back — a nod to the complicated relationship that existed between the two men.
Groves recently went back to work in Argentia, providing much-needed income to help him make payments and keep the bill collectors away.
"I'm playing catchup," he said. "And I've got a lot of catching up to do."
Numerous people have tried and failed. I am one of them.- Philip Chancey
Whether or not police find any part of the deal was fraudulent, Groves plans to be Chancey's sixth lawsuit in the Supreme Court.
"He needs to pay for what he's done," he said.
CBC News asked Chancey if he believed he'd done anything wrong — to Groves or any of the other complainants.
"I have over the years tried to work and establish various business opportunities. Yes, some failed, I admit this," he wrote. "Throughout the country, numerous people have tried and failed. I am one of them. The key is to never give up."
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