Six people were recently sentenced to prison terms up to 13.5 years for participating in a multi-state conspiracy to steal millions of dollars of cargo from tractor trailers during transit, the Department of Justice said Friday.
Juan Perez-Gonzalez, 51, a Cuban national living in Florida received the most prison time. One of his co-conspirators was sentenced to seven years and 11 months in federal prison. Three individuals received sentences of about three years and one person was punished with time served.
According to court documents, between November 2021 and May 2023, Perez-Gonzalez and his partners conspired to steal tractor-trailers containing high-end electronics and other items, which they later resold at a discount for profit.
The co-conspirators traveled from Florida and Kentucky to distribution facilities used by national companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and L Brands located in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. The group then spied on the facilities and followed semi-trucks as they departed. When a driver stopped to rest, refuel, or park, the conspirators stole the entire tractor-trailer.
In many instances, the group abandoned the stolen tractor nearby and reattached the trailer to a different tractor they operated. To evade law enforcement, they painted over logos and identifying numbers and used different license plates on the stolen trailers.
The group transported stolen cargo to Miami where it was sold to buyers, including co-defendant Richard Alameda, for a fraction of its retail value. The group carried out at least 14 separate cargo thefts, the theft of over $2 million in Oculus virtual reality headsets from a Meta facility, $940,000 in Microsoft products, $1 million in Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret merchandise, $669,000 in Harmon-JBL audio products, $180,000 in Logitech products, and $480,000 worth of Bose audio speakers.
“These thefts had real consequences for consumers and businesses, increasing costs and disrupting the flow of goods across the country. What this group attempted was a sweeping attack on the backbone of U.S. commerce, but it was ultimately dismantled through the unified work of federal, state, and local law enforcement,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, in a news release.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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