One area where OMVIC has done a consistently good job is on enforcement of illegal dealing in motor vehicles, what we know as “curbsiding”. Under the Regulations to the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act this offence carries a minimum fine of $5000 as of 2023.
It takes a lot of hours to investigate and prosecute these increasingly sophisticated crooks that hide behind burner phones and fake emails to peddle their motor vehicles to unsuspecting consumers. OMVIC’s work carries on all over the province of Ontario.
The only thing more unsavoury and risky for consumers than these curbsiders, are the vehicles they sell.
Our members know as well as OMVIC that these sellers pose the greatest risk to consumers in our industry. Inevitably, the business model involves buying really cheap vehicles with stories to tell about accidents, odometer accuracy, mechanical problems, liens and title issues … not telling the buyer about these stories … and selling for much more money than they paid to buy them.
All of this while incurring none of the costs of overhead, rent, OMVIC fees, regulatory concerns and zero after-sale care or compensation fund access for buyers. In other words, zero protections offered to consumers unlike those who buy from legitimate motor vehicle sellers – registered OMVIC motor vehicle dealers.
We thought we’d share some recent good news on that front, which you can read about anytime you like, on OMVIC’s own website, here:
Elemer Lazi Sr., Gabriella Erzsebet Lazine, and Elemer Lazi Jr., Erin/Georgetown, Conviction after Guilty Plea, on March 26, 2026, were each found guilty of multiple counts of trading in motor vehicles without being registered with OMVIC to legally sell vehicles.
The court also found them guilty of several counts of unfair practices under the Consumer Protection Act related to misleading representations to consumers.
The court imposed a total of $51,500 in fines: This included individual fines:
- Elemer Lazi : $12,500 (MVDA) + $6,000 (CPA) = $18,500
- Gabriella Erzsebet Lazine: $12,500 (MVDA) + $2,000 (CPA) =
$14,500
- Elemer Lazi : $12,500 (MVDA) + $6,000 (CPA) = $18,500
Thambiratnam Vitheyatharan, Ajax, Conviction after Trial, $90,000 in fines for curbsiding, $20,000 in fines for False, Misleading or Deceptive Representations – March 12, 2026
Avinash Ganesh, Scarborough, Conviction after Trial, $30,000 in fines for curbsiding – March 11, 2026.