This Florida smooth-talker thought he could game the system, but justice finally caught up with him. Clark P. Rittersbach, a 51-year-old from Cape Coral, just got slapped with a two-year federal prison stint after running what prosecutors call a straight-up con job through his classic car shop in upstate New York.
Turns out, his high-end restoration business, Concours Classic Motor Cars over in Macedon, was little more than a fancy front. The guy somehow pocketed over $2.5 million from clients worldwide—money for dream-car makeovers that either barely started or, in some cases, never happened at all.
Here’s the kicker: this wasn’t some sloppy, fly-by-night scuffle. Rittersbach played the long game, leaning hard on the fact that restorations take ages. With most owners living out of state or even overseas, he’d fire off slick emails and texts full of lies, spinning yarns about “completed” engine rebuilds or “progress” on vintage Porsches when his shop hadn’t so much as popped the hood.
Take that poor sap in 2019 who wired $25K after being told the engine on his priceless Duesenberg was finished. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. Not even close. Another victim got fed the same nonsense about a ’64 Porsche, throwing cash at promises thinner than cheap primer.
For years, this guy kept the charade alive, stringing along clients with bogus updates just to buy time while emptying their wallets. Prosecutors say the final toll hit a staggering $2.5 million—enough to make your average gearhead weep over what might’ve been.
The case lays bare the danger of handing over rare rides to distant shops with zero oversight. One thing’s clear: if you’re dropping six figures on a restoration, maybe don’t take some shady Florida man’s word for it.
Eve Nowell