A Florida conman running a high-end classic car restoration outfit in upstate New York just got slapped with a two-year federal prison stretch, finally facing the music after swindling gullible gearheads out of millions. Meet Clark P. Rittersbach, the 51-year-old smooth talker behind Concours Classic Motor Cars in Macedon—a shop that turned out to be little more than a glossy front for a years-long scam preying on wealthy collectors worldwide.
Feds ripped the lid off this operation, revealing how Rittersbach raked in over $2.5 million from starry-eyed clients dreaming of pristine vintage rides. Here’s the kicker: most of those “restorations” barely progressed, if at all. The guy had the whole routine down pat, exploiting the glacial pace typical of luxury auto work to buy time. With victims scattered across the globe, he’d shoot off slick emails and texts spinning yarns about “progress” while those priceless cars gathered dust in his bays.
Take the poor sap who forked over $25,000 in 2019 for what he thought was a finished engine job on a rare Duesenberg. Turned out? Not a single bolt had been touched. Then there was the Porsche enthusiast bled dry with lies about a 1964 model supposedly coming along nicely—just keep those payments rolling in, sucker.
Prosecutors called it a textbook grift, propped up by Rittersbach’s endless stream of bogus updates designed to keep the cash flowing. By the time the feds caught wind, the damage ballooned past $2.5 million, leaving a trail of furious collectors holding empty promises.
The whole mess throws cold water on the classic car world’s cosy assumptions. Sending your million-dollar baby to some far-flung “expert” shop? Maybe think twice—especially if their best work happens in email drafts. Justice finally caught up this time, but you’ve gotta wonder how many other sharks are circling that moneyed, trusting crowd.
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