Fraud

Two stolen trailers carrying more than $1.3 million in cargo were recovered at a suburban Chicago truck yard, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. The trailers, reported stolen in Alabama and Florida, contained approximately $300,000 in copper wire and $1 million in infrastructure equipment for data centers. Investigators are working to identify the driver who delivered the trailers and anyone else who may have been involved in the thefts.

A former regional manager for Delex Air Cargo LLC has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the scheme involved shipping controlled industrial oil and gas equipment to Russia through intermediary countries while concealing the shipments with false export documents.

The freight industry stands at a crossroads that looks remarkably familiar to anyone who remembers the early days of fintech. Before Plaid became the connective tissue linking bank accounts to lending decisions, borrowers shuffled paperwork and lenders operated on good faith. Now that same transformation is coming for trucking, and Highway’s Chief Commercial Officer Michael […]

The cargo was unusual. The alleged theft method was not. According to public reporting, criminals compromised a legitimate carrier’s identity and used it to divert a Walmart-bound shipment worth $1.7 million, a tactic the FBI says is becoming increasingly common.

The July 4 holiday doesn’t create supply chain vulnerabilities. It exposes them. As freight sits unattended and operations slow down, security experts warn that organized theft groups are watching closely.

For decades, transportation operated on trust, speed, and relationships. On this episode of Fraud Watch, Malcolm Harris explains why that model is changing as freight fraud becomes more organized, verification becomes more critical, and companies are forced to rethink how freight moves through their operations.

Investigators say organized cargo theft crews continue targeting Arizona rail corridors, with train burglaries occurring up to a dozen times each month across Northern Arizona.

A growing number of False Claims Act cases are exposing schemes designed to evade duties on imports.

First Brands, Perfectus, Canadian steel firms and Greenbrier are among recent targets in federal duty evasion actions

Banks learned years ago that fraud prevention requires more than instinct or technology alone. They built compliance roles, documented procedures, and repeatable verification processes designed to reduce risk and stand up in court. FreightWaves believes the transportation industry is now entering that same shift.

Authorities in Florida arrested 14 suspects tied to what investigators describe as a highly organized theft network responsible for millions in stolen merchandise. Detectives say the group operated across multiple states while using logistics, resale operations, and coordinated theft methods that resembled a structured criminal enterprise more than isolated retail theft.

Dale Prax makes the case for cross-platform collaboration on freight fraud — and explains why the industry can’t afford to keep working in silos.

FMCSA revoked two more electronic logging devices today, bringing the total to 67 noncompliant devices removed since January 2025. Carriers using Safe ELD or MYLOGS ELD have until July 7, 2026, to replace them or face out-of-service orders.

An investigation found 195 active motor carriers clustered along a few miles of East Dublin Granville Road in northeast Columbus; the same corridor was just exposed for a billion dollars in Medicaid fraud. Federal inspection data shows those carriers have been involved in 275 crashes, including 4 fatal and 74 injury crashes. The world’s largest retailer appears in 175 inspections across 44 of those carriers with a 20.6% out-of-service rate.

Most cargo theft does not start with a truck. It starts with access that looks legitimate until it is too late.

Discover how a $287K VIN fraud scheme exploited the trucking industry using false identities.

Rob Carpenter breaks down what it was like working with 60 Minutes on their explosive segment about chameleon carriers and the Super Ego network.

This was not stopped by a process. It was caught by chance.

Stolen freight worth $1M recovered by deputies, preventing major cargo theft loss.

Owners of two trucking companies and two U.S. Postal Service employees were sentenced to prison for a bribery scheme aimed at securing transportation contracts.