California trucking owner pleads guilty in $2.1M identity theft scheme

Federal records reveal trucking company’s operating history

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records identify San Diego Logistics Group Inc. under USDOT 3210732 and MC 1002578. The company reported three trucks, five CDL drivers and 2,948,000 miles traveled in 2022. Its registered cargo categories included general freight, refrigerated food, fresh produce, meat and U.S. mail. The figures came from the carrier’s November 2023 MCS-150 filing.

Divided among three trucks, the reported mileage equals approximately 983,000 miles per truck in one year. The American Transportation Research Institute reported an industry average of 78,863 miles per truck in 2022. That makes San Diego Logistics Group’s reported mileage more than 12 times the industry average. An inaccurate mileage filing or a larger fleet operating during 2022 could explain the discrepancy.

Neither explanation has been confirmed, and the mileage figures come from the carrier’s own filings. Its registered cargo categories also do not independently establish completed freight deliveries. For brokers, discrepancies like this highlight why carrier verification must go beyond checking operating authority. Federal records do not establish whether the mileage discrepancy had any connection to Korkmaz’s criminal conduct.

FMCSA granted the company’s common carrier authority on December 6, 2021. The agency initiated six involuntary revocation proceedings during 2022 and 2023, subsequently discontinuing each one. FMCSA commonly starts these proceedings when required insurance coverage lapses and may discontinue them after carriers restore compliance. Available records do not establish what triggered each action against San Diego Logistics Group.

Regulators ultimately revoked the company’s common carrier authority on January 2, 2024. Its current registration profile lists both common and broker authority as inactive. Insurance records show previous cancellations and no active primary liability coverage. Federal filings do not establish any connection between those regulatory issues and Korkmaz’s criminal conduct.

Sentencing scheduled for January

The indictment included 12 bank fraud counts, two money laundering charges and four aggravated identity theft offenses. Bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years per count. Money laundering carries up to 10 years per count under 18 U.S.C. Section 1957. Aggravated identity theft requires a mandatory consecutive two-year prison term. These statutory penalties do not establish the sentence Korkmaz will ultimately receive.

U.S. District Judge James E. Simmons Jr. scheduled sentencing for January 8, 2027, at 9 a.m. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Rookard are prosecuting case 25-cr-1405-JES. The Justice Department has not identified the banks or explained how Korkmaz obtained the victims’ information.

Why It Matters

A registered trucking company became part of a financial fraud operation that caused more than $2.1 million in losses. The case highlights the importance of examining company ownership, operating authority and financial activity when evaluating transportation businesses.

Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phil Brink.

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