Samsung Charged For Stealing From Apple; Now Samsung Chairman Accused Of Possessing A Stolen $15 Million Ferrari?

After a long and bitter lawsuit, Samsung is charged with the hefty sum of $1.05 billion for infringing on Apple patents.

Four days since the verdict, the chairman of the South Korean consumer electronics company, Kun Hee Lee, is now on the hook for something else.

Only four examples of the 1963 Ferrari 330 LMB were ever made. Considered one of the rarest and most desirable even among Ferraris, each 330 LMB is worth nearly $15 million. Chairman Lee is the proud owner of the chassis number 4619.

However, Jalopnik dug up an open case dating all the way back to 1977 that stands to prove otherwise.

Ivars Blumenau of Atlanta, GA, first bought chassis 4619 back in 1974 from Atlanta Ferrari mechanic and dealer Donald Fong, who was kind of a big deal among Ferrari circles.

For reasons that only an owner of the most exclusive of Ferraris would understand, Blumenau decided that it was safer to keep his 330 LMB with Donald Fong and Atlanta Ferrari than to leave the car in a personal garage. Allegedly, Fong and Blumenau had a number of exchanges before and Blumenau was convinced that Fong was honest and reputable. Unfortunately, Blumenau would lose his prized Ferrari on March 18, 1977.

Naturally, a police report was filed for the missing car. However, rather than list Blumenau as the owner of the vehicle, the police report filed the Ferrari under Donald Fong instead. Even though the Ferrari was clearly titled to Blumenau, the report showed that the man storing the car had claimed himself the owner.

Understandably distraught and bitter of his great loss, Blumenau accused Fong of plotting an elaborate scheme to steal the car.

Years after the incident, Jalopnik reached out to Blumenau, who told them that the last time he saw Fong was in court. Since then, Fong has gone to jail for other another embezzlement crime sentence. Apparently, Fong is only as honest and reputable as the typical car salesman.

For the next couple of years, the 330 LMB was shipped to Chicago, Germany, Netherlands, and even put up for auction in 1989, where an investor placed a $4.7 million bid on the car. By 1994, the Ferrari 330 LMB had become a part of an exhibit inside the Behring Museum in Danville, California.

Finally, at some point in the 90's, the Samsung Chairman took interest and bought the the rare automobile.

Meanwhile, Blumenau had been tracking his Ferrari the entire time. Unfortunately, Blumenau says that every time he got close to getting his car back, "someone would tip off the owners and the car would disappear."

Even though the car is now with Kun Hee Lee, there's no evidence that indicates that he was involved in any theft.

Lee is one of the wealthiest men in the world and certainly one of the most powerful men of South Korea. Like Donald Fong, Kun Hee Lee's possesses a questionable history as well. In 2008, Lee was sentenced to a three-year prison term for bribing influential figures in South Korea. However, Lee's connections were so powerful that he was effectively pardoned by the South Korean government of any wrongdoing.

Unfazed by the latest man to stand in between him and his Ferrari, Blumenau is already cooperating with Interpol to get his Ferrari back.

Jalopnik reached out to Samsung for a statement but its spokesperson simply assured that the matter has been forwarded to the "appropriate party" who will return their inquiry soon.

Stay tuned as the bizarre Ferrari story unfolds.

[Source: Jalopnik]