Kuyoth takes plea deal

By Casey Krautkramer

Troy Kuyoth, owner of Kuyoth’s Body & Custom doing business as Kuyoth’s Klassics in Stratford, has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors to avoid serving possible prison time after being charged with a felony count of VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) tampering.

Kuyoth agreed to waive indictment and plead guilty to the felony count. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend Kuyoth pay a fine of $95,000 at sentencing and be barred for three years from advertising or selling classic cars as numbermatching vehicles when they include nonoriginal factory-supplied parts installed by the mechanics working for him.

Federal court documents state that Kuyoth purchased a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 in April of 2014 and had his mechanics make repairs and install replacement parts into the vehicle, including an engine and transmission. This restoration took place from

See FEDERAL OFFENSE/ page 2

SEARCH- The Wisconsin State Patrol on August, 25, 2022, reviews documents it obtained during a search warrant of Kuyoth Klassics in Stratford.

STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER Federal offense

Continued from page 1

2015 to July of 2020.

The replacement engine and transmission were not the original factorysupplied engine and transmission. Mechanics working for Kuyoth ground off the serial numbers on the replacement engine and transmission and replaced these numbers with hand-stamped serial numbers which made the two replacement parts appear to be original factory-supplied parts for the 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429, according to federal court documents.

The restored 1970 Ford Mustang Boss was advertised for sale by Kuyoth as having a numbers-matching engine and transmission and was listed for $375,000. Kuyoth sold the vehicle to Steve LaBelle in 2022. After having the 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 439 shipped to his home, LaBelle drove it and decided it was not drivable, so he returned the car to Kuyoth for a full refund.

The Wisconsin State Patrol executed a search warrant at 8 a.m. on August 25, 2022, at Kuyoth’s Klassics. State patrol personnel and deputies from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department were at multiple locations conducting interviews and searching facilities associated with the classic car restoration business.

Federal court documents state the search warrant identified various items of evidentiary value “concealed on the premises and vehicle,” including VIN tags and plates, mobile electronic devices, business records and tools associated with stamping, removing and altering VIN tags and plates.

No arrests were made on Aug. 25, 2022, while the investigation continued. At that time, the Marathon County District Attorney’s office was investigating the following alleged crimes: 943.20(1) (d) theft-false representation, 943.20(1) (c) theft by fraud, 342.30 (1g)(a) VIN tampering and 342.06(2) knowingly making false statements on application for title.

The federal government said it found significant evidence that Kuyoth and his employees obtained classic cars, tampered with their VIN and parts numbers, and then fraudulently sold the restored cars as “numbers-matching” cars with original parts worth many thousands of dollars more than an ordinary restored car. In this alleged scheme, purchasers think they are buying an original, numbers- matching car and are paying a premium for it. But in reality, they are buying a more ordinary restoration, with tampered numbers to make it look like a numbers-matching original.

In November of 2022, Troy Kuyoth filed a motion in Marathon County Circuit Court for the return of his property the police seized from his business on August 25, 2022. At the hearing, the district attorney stated that the county did not anticipate bringing its own charges in connection with the vehicle, but she argued that Kuyoth’s motion was moot because the Boss 429 was about to be transferred into federal custody as evidence of a crime and contraband.

Marathon County Circuit Court ruled that Kuyoth’s property must be returned within 14 days “unless there is a transfer of said property to a law enforcement agency outside of Marathon County on or before 14 days, and the receiving law enforcement agency claims control of said items.” Kuyoth’s property was already in federal custody pending an investigation by the FBI. Plaintiffs immediately filed this case on Dec. 15, 2022.

Plaintiffs said that the Boss 429 was not for sale and was owned by Kuyoth’s Body & Custom, a business that defendant Troy Kuyoth and his wife have owned and operated since 1991.

Prosecutors will recommend lenience to the judge because Kuyoth accepted responsibility for his actions. The felony charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of extended supervision.

As part of the Kuyoth’s plea agreement with federal prosecutors, the government will return the evidence it seized from Kuyoth including two Apple iPads and the 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429.