Timeline

October 2020: WJ (“OWNER”) from Eichstätt purchases a bronze-colored Jaguar C-Type Lynx Recreation ("Juan Manuel Fangio" look; "vehicle") via a written sales contract from FB, CEO of Lynx in Ingolstadt (“SELLER”). SELLER hands over the vehicle (complete, in parts, wrong transmission, not roadworthy, without TÜV), and OWNER pays the full purchase price of 100,000 EUR.

December 2020: SELLER allows a buy-back period granted at his request to pass without comment.

 
January 2021: OWNER contracts German classic Jaguar REPAIR SPECIALIST (“REPAIR SPECIALIST”) from the classic car repair company Oldtimer Klassik s.r.o., based in the Czech Republic, via a written repair contract for the assembly, road registration, TÜV, etc., of the vehicle; from a cost estimate of 23,628 EUR net, OWNER makes a down payment of 15,000 EUR; REPAIR SPECIALIST picks up the vehicle from OWNER in Neuburg an der Donau and takes it to his workshop in the Czech Republic.

Additional Information: The assembly and repair of such a vehicle require highly specialized expertise and concrete experience with this type of vehicle, which are very rare and available. OWNER has known REPAIR SPECIALIST personally for about 40+ years and had good experiences with him in the past for comparable work; for this reason, no special precautions were deemed necessary when handing over the vehicle to REPAIR SPECIALIST for assembly and repair.

February to May 2021: Regular updates on the status of the work via WhatsApp and phone between OWNER, REPAIR SPECIALIST, and AJ (“SON” of SELLER).

NEW INSIGHT - June 17, 2021: After the delivery deadline (May 31, 2021) passed, REPAIR SPECIALIST delivers the vehicle without the knowledge and permission of OWNER to SELLER; this insight was gained on April 8, 2024, through private investigations by OWNER and SON in the UK from a former business partner of SELLER. On that day, SELLER had sent two photos via WhatsApp to this person, which unmistakably show the vehicle in his underground garage at [street], Ingolstadt (at his former residence). 

SELLER writes, "Today my bronze C Type was finally brought home to me!!!!! I will have money again tomorrow!"

The vehicle is almost fully completed, as can be easily seen from the exhaust and exhaust manifold, tank (cap), carburetor system, radiator, alternator. The final proof that the photo must have been taken later than January 2021 are the two small windshields ("Brooklands") that OWNER had sent to REPAIR SPECIALIST.

 
Additional Information: SELLER denies to this day ever having possessed the vehicle again after handing it over to OWNER; the screenshot of the WhatsApp messages and the photos clearly refute this and thus expose SELLER as a liar; at the same time, this also proves the embezzlement of the vehicle by REPAIR SPECIALIST, who was not authorized to pass on the vehicle; REPAIR SPECIALIST had very high debts to SELLER, amounting to several hundred thousands of EUR/GBP; SELLER may have been able to exert pressure on REPAIR SPECIALIST.

 
NEW INSIGHT – November 11, 2021: SELLER makes at least four videos of REPAIR SPECIALIST (available), in which he admits to previous crimes (e.g., false statements to the police for the purpose of filing a complaint) and vows never to do anything bad against the SELLER family again.

July 2022: After numerous unmet requests for the return or delivery of the vehicle, OWNER rescinds from the repair contract; REPAIR SPECIALIST presents a completely fabricated and ludicrous counterclaim in the amount of 128,000 EUR.

July to November 2022: REPAIR SPECIALIST goes into hiding and is unreachable; OWNER asks SELLER for mediation.

November 2022: SELLER surprisingly contacts OWNER via a lawyer's letter making the ludicrous claim that the original purchase contract is, "in fact, a concealed pawnbroking contract", thus the sale contract "null and void"; SELLER demands the immediate handing over of the vehicle along with its papers from OWNER to him; since SELLER had previously asked OWNER for mediation regarding REPAIR SPECIALIST for the purpose of handing over the vehicle and is (as it is now clearly evident) already in possession of the vehicle at this time, SELLER probably aims to secure ownership of the vehicle with this approach, thus retrospectively legitimizing his already existing possession of the vehicle.

March 2023: OWNER files a criminal complaint against REPAIR SPECIALIST and Oldtimer-Klassik in the Czech Republic; the Czech criminal police and the public prosecutor's office dismiss it due to (fabricated and ludicrous) counterclaims by REPAIR SPECIALIST; they advise settling it through civil means or, preferably, out of court.

 
April 2023: Meeting between SELLER, REPAIR SPECIALIST, OWNER, OWNER's lawyer, and other victims of SELLER and REPAIR SPECIALIST in Ingolstadt at the Bonschab restaurant or Donau-Hotel. OWNER confronts REPAIR SPECIALIST about the whereabouts of the vehicle; REPAIR SPECIALIST says he had delivered it to SELLER; SELLER denies it; an agreement to settle the matter is drafted, but SELLER and REPAIR SPECIALIST renege on it the following day.

July 2023: OWNER files the first criminal complaint against REPAIR SPECIALIST in Ingolstadt for embezzlement; for unexplained reasons, nothing progresses.

NEW INSIGHT – [sometime between June 2021 and probably the end of 2023]: [Important event(s) implicating SELLER. Due to ongoing police investigations nothing more can be said at this point.]

November 2022 to March 2024: OWNER makes various offers to SELLER, who always acts as the "lead negotiator," while REPAIR SPECIALIST almost completely ceasing to communicate:

Option 1: Reversal of the purchase contract against payment of 120,000 EUR for vehicle purchase, repair down payment, and other costs; this would effectively constitute an interest-free loan.

Option 2: Payment of an additional 30,000 EUR for the handover of the completed vehicle.

Option 3: Provision of an additional 50,000 EUR through OWNER to further "refine" the vehicle and then sell it within six months; after repayment of the amounts paid by OWNER (approx. 170,000 EUR), any surplus would be shared; SELLER assumes that the vehicle could then fetch up to over 400,000 EUR (which is completely unrealistic since even the very best comparable perfect recreation cars only achieve a maximum of 300,000 EUR).

Since SELLER does not accept any of these very good options, it is clear that he (and REPAIR SPECIALIST) were never really interested in a genuine solution but instead attempt to perpetuate the unlawfully obtained fraudulent state.

January 2024: OWNER legally sues REPAIR SPECIALIST and his Czech company; his German lawyer in Prague, MPe; email [e-mail]), files the lawsuit; the case is pending at the competent court in Hradec Králové.

Since February 2024: OWNER, supported by his son SON, goes public:

With the website lynxctype.com (over 12,000 visitors to date), OWNER and SON ask for tips and assistance in finding his vehicle; they receive numerous calls and emails, mostly from other victims of SELLER and/or REPAIR SPECIALIST (see below).

They place ads in several leading specialist magazines, including Classic Trader Germany, Classic & Sports Car UK.

Some leading specialist media (e.g., Octane Magazine UK) and national (Bild) and regional newspapers (e.g., Donaukurier, Neuburger Rundschau) report on and even follow the case.

Major TV channels (e.g., Sat1) cover the case.

March/April 2024: Two more victims claim that Frank Berger recently offered them the vehicle for sale; thus, there is a strong suspicion of fencing.

April 2024: OWNER and SON travel to the UK to conduct their own investigations in the environment of the defendants:

During their five-day trip across nearly 2,000 km throughout Great Britain, they receive widespread sympathy and support for their cause.

They meet with various other alleged victims (see below).

At one of the locations where one of the [companies] of SELLER is based, they receive the crucial clue that exposes and convicts the perpetrators: A WhatsApp conversation from June 17, 2021, in which SELLER sent the person two photos showing the vehicle unmistakably in his underground garage at [address], Ingolstadt (former residence of the SELLER).

SELLER writes, "Today my bronze C Type was finally brought home to me!!!!! I will have money again tomorrow!"

The vehicle is shown almost fully completed, as can be easily seen from the exhaust and exhaust manifold, tank (cap), carburetor system, radiator, alternator. The final proof that the photo must have been taken later than January 2021 are the two small windshields ("Brooklands") that OWNER had sent to REPAIR SPECIALIST.

April 9, 2024: SELLER contacts SON and asks for a meeting together with OWNER during their trip to England; he wants to make an offer that they "will definitely like" and that they will "definitely" agree on.

April 10, 2024: OWNER, SON, and SELLER meet in Bucklebury, about 80 km west of London; OWNER and SON demand that SELLER make the offer; SELLER remains vague but insists on keeping the bronze C-Type and instead wants to offer another vehicle project. OWNER and SON flatly refuse, confront SELLER with the new overwhelming evidence, the embezzlement and fencing, and set a handover deadline until Friday, April 12, 2024, 12:00; SELLER rejects the delivery date, citing alleged impossibility of coordinating with REPAIR SPECIALIST. OWNER and SON announce that they will pursue every legal avenue based on the new information (e.g., commercial and organized fraud) and will respond openly to media inquiries from radio, television, and press.

Early/mid April 2024: The public prosecution in Ingolstadt pursues charges against REPAIR SPECIALIST. 

April 2024: Given the now-proven direct involvement of SELLER in the embezzlement and fencing of the vehicle, OWNER is now examining possibilities of taking legal action directly against SELLER; given the large number of victims and the significant amounts involved, it is also being investigated whether the crime of commercial and possibly organized fraud could be fulfilled.

April 19, 2024: SELLER & REPAIR SPECIALIST miss their own deadline. The car is still not returned to its rightful OWNER. The search and legal pursuit continues.