Buckle up for this wild story!
Supercar rallies have a reputation for producing some of the best footage of the most stylish vehicles in the world. From Ferrari to Lamborghini, American, Italian, European, you name it and I guarantee that some of the best pictures of the car were taken at a rally. Photographers, amateur and pro alike, flock from miles away just to get a shot at capturing a truly unique moment. In the case of three car photographers from Cleveland, they were approached with a golden opportunity to document the rally and take pictures of the cars. This was a dream come true for the photographers at the time and an incredible opportunity to boost their experience. However something was wrong about this particular rally, something nefarious was going on in the background.
These scammers didn't get away with their con.
The photography team was promised a media vehicle, free restaurant reservations, and reserved hotel rooms. They agreed to do the event for free and the date was set. After meeting with the coordinator a few times, they were happy to learn that there would be several high-status supercars such as a Mclaren 675, Lamborghini Aventador, and a 458. A trip that was supposed to stretch from Cleveland to Columbus, and then to Pittsburg would soon begin falling apart.
First of all, the price was set at $2,000 for entry which is a heavy price to pay for a rally, however, it is not unusual to see marked up prices for supercar rallies. Then people started “dropping-out” of the rally, suddenly the 3 supercars that were promised all of a sudden canceled. The curator made the additional promise of the presence of a Porsche 918, this excited the boys who were set to shoot the rally. Finally, after arriving almost an hour late, our culprit showed up in a red Durango. He passed around some wavers and began collecting driver's licenses. After four hours of waiting, the curator said that the show was canceled and that there would be no refunds. Approximately $40,000-$50,000 was lost to this scammer.
Many left in anger, however, some stayed and decided to host their own rally. Along the way, they discovered something else about their “friend” from the rally. As it turns out, he had been visiting clubs and courtside basketball games, using the stolen money to benefit himself. The rest of the weekend consisted of Go-Karts, Drag racing, and driving around. They called the dealer and the scammer was fired, on top of that, they were able to refund everyone via PayPal. It is nice to see a group of people coming together out of a bad situation to make a good experience out of it, this is the origin story of the Cleveland Recharge Rally.
