John Negrean: Brisbane fraudster jailed for selling ‘cloned’ vehicles

Dozens of unfortunate motorists won’t see a cent after a Brisbane man scammed them with dodgy vehicles, a court has heard.

A formerly “successful” painter with his own business has been jailed for seven years for selling dozens of stolen and written-off vehicles with cloned identifiers to make them seem legitimate.

Sunnybank Hills man John Romica Negrean, 41, pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court to 16 offences relating to his fraudulent business.

The most serious count, carrying on a fraudulent business of greater than $100,000, was the “umbrella” offence in which all the others were particulars.

His offending occurred between November 29, 2017 and his arrest and remand in pre-sentence custody on June 11 last year.

Negrean was the “principal in a syndicate involved in the reidentification of vehicles,” the court heard.

This involved purchasing stolen or statutorily written-off vehicles, “obliterating” their VINs and engine numbers and replacing them with legitimate identifiers of the same make and model of the vehicle, thereby making a “clone”.

He would then create fraudulent documents, “falsely representing their ownership, legitimacy and history” in order to have them legally registered in Queensland for onselling to unlucky motorists.

Sunnybank Hills fraudster John Romica Negrean, 41. Picture: Facebook

Negrean sold at least 11 vehicles in this manner, totalling $278,399 in fraudulent sales, although the court heard the true extent of the fraud was “not able to be gauged”.

Negrean travelled as far north as Rockhampton and as far south as Victoria to carry out the operation, the court heard.

He continued to reoffend despite being under police surveillance and subject to bail for aspects of the offending before the whole was known.

After his arrest, Negrean, throughout three police interviews, gave false accounts of his actions and accused the investigating officer of misconduct, the court heard.

The court heard Romanian-born Negrean completed his schooling in Melbourne after emigrating and initially trained as a mechanic and panelbeater before retraining as a painter.

By age 21, the court heard, Negrean was married and owned his own business.

Negrean reported his life was “successful” around that time, but his “success in life collapsed at age 27” when he was divorced and fell into daily drug use.

The court heard Negrean was “embarrassed and ashamed” about his fraudulent offending and he had gotten clean from drugs in the 482 days he had served in pre-sentence custody.

He was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, with parole eligibility set at September 11 next year.

No order for restitution was made, meaning the hapless customers who had the misfortune of buying a vehicle from Negrean will be left out of pocket.