Fraudulently ‘buying’ Mercedes SUVs in Surrey, Richmond nets house arrest, curfew
Published 11:30 am Thursday, July 9, 2026
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has sentenced Nicholas Kenneth Anthony to six months of house arrest followed by a six-month curfew and 12 months probation after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently buying Mercedes SUVs in Surrey and Richmond.
Anthony, 41, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing another person’s identity with intent to commit an indictable offence and two counts of fraud over $5,000. His crimes were six weeks apart. In both cases he used someone else’s ID to get financing for luxury autos. Police recovered the SUVs.
Justice Sandra Sukstorf said Anthony “expressed remorse, shame, and regret.“
“I am satisfied that the gravity of the offences are high,” she said.
The Crown argued for 12 months jail and two years probation, submitting that Anthony’s crimes were “sophisticated and had significant consequences for both the dealerships and the victims whose identities were misappropriated.”
The defence argued for three months of house arrest and a seven-month curfew, submitting Anthony’s moral culpability is diminished by “a combination of childhood trauma, addiction, serious illness, and pressure exerted by individuals connected to organized criminal activity” and that Anthony “did not meaningfully profit from the offences and that the vehicles were turned over to others.”
The court heard that Anthony went to the Funfhundert Plus (500 Plus) auto dealership on Jan. 24, 2023 in Richmond, provided a B.C. driver’s licence with his photo but in the name of Adam Carpenter, a void cheque and pre-authorized payment forms from CIBC in Carpenter’s name.
With this he arranged to buy a Mercedes SUV for $65,000 with no down payment, sought financing for the full purchase price and left with the SUV.
“When the dealership later attempted to process the financing documents, CIBC advised it that the banking documentation was invalid,” the judge noted in her reasons for sentence. “Mr. Anthony was expected to return to the dealership the following day with additional banking information, but failed to do so.”
Ten days later the real Adam Carpenter contacted the dealership and advised he didn’t buy the Mercedes and was a victim of identity fraud.
Police recovered the Mercedes in Surrey on March 8, 2023. “It was recovered without keys and required towing to a Mercedes dealership,” Sukstorf said.
Meanwhile, Anthony had gone to the Go North Surrey GM dealership on March 3, 2023, presented a B.C. driver’s licence under the name Darcy Michell, said he owned a numbered company, test drove a Mercedes SUV and told the dealership he wished to buy it through company financing for $64,900.
“Dealership staff confirmed that the numbered company existed and was registered in Mr. Michell’s name. Relying on the information provided, the dealership approved the transaction, and Mr. Anthony departed with the vehicle,” Sukstorf said.
“Several days later, difficulties arose when the dealership attempted to finalize the financing arrangements with Scotiabank. It was discovered that the void cheque supplied by the purchaser was linked to a different numbered company than the one through which financing had purportedly been obtained.”
The dealership called police four days later to report someone purporting to be Mr. Michell had fraudulently obtained the Mercedes.
Police then contacted Michell, who confirmed he neither bought a vehicle from the dealership nor owned the numbered company.
Police recovered this second SUV on April 9, 2023.