Feds Refuse to Pay Bill for Ferrari Totaled by FBI Agent

You would expect from a government agency such as the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) to go by the “you break, you pay” unwritten law, but think again. Back in February, we were reporting that an insurance company has filed a lawsuit against the bureau, asking it for no less than $750,000 for a wrecked Ferrari F50 that was crashed by an FBI agent.

The vehicle was stolen in 2003 from a Ferrari dealership in Rosemont, Pennsylvania. Six years later, the FBI seized the sportscar during a drug raid in Lexington, Kentucky.

The agent was put in charge to safely transport the 1995 Ferrari F50 to a warehouse, but ended up crashing it into several trees. The result? A total loss.

Aside from the fact that the government also has refused to release most documents related to the crash, the U.S. Justice Department refuses to pay. According to the Washington Post, the Justice Department recently responded to the lawsuit by saying it’s not liable for certain goods when they’re in the hands of law enforcement.

The government only released an email from Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Hamilton Thompson. “Just a few seconds after we left the parking lot, we went around a curve and the rear of the car began sliding,” Thompson said in the email released to Motors Insurance Co., the dealer’s insurer.

“The agent tried to regain control but the car fishtailed and slid sideways up onto the curb. The vehicle came to rest against a row of bushes and a small tree,” he said.

A new court hearing in the respective case has been scheduled for June 13 in Detroit.