Cargo Theft Indictment Puts $10M Fraud Case in View
Federal prosecutors charged eight people in an alleged cargo theft conspiracy that they say used carrier impersonation and diverted freight across multiple states.
Eight defendants charged in New York case
Federal prosecutors in New York have charged eight people in an alleged international cargo theft conspiracy that they say targeted commercial freight across the United States. The indictment alleges at least $10 million in stolen cargo from March 2023 through the present.
The defendants are accused of conspiracy to transport and possess stolen property. One defendant, Sevak Kocharian, also faces a separate extortion conspiracy charge in another pending federal case. Prosecutors said the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Carrier impersonation sits at the center
According to prosecutors, the group used carrier impersonation and other supply-chain company identities to obtain transportation contracts, then diverted freight, changed delivery information and removed tracking devices before unloading and selling goods.
The alleged cargo list cuts across several fleet and shipper categories: electronics, liquor, meat, fish, eggs, clothing, skincare products and cryptocurrency mining machines. Prosecutors said the operation relied on a dispatcher abroad, with facilitators, drivers and workers in the United States.
Specific loads show the risk profile
The indictment cites several alleged thefts, including a whiskey shipment worth more than $360,000, skincare and hair care products worth more than $114,000, about 23,400 dozen eggs valued near $51,000, a clothing shipment valued around $1.2 million, and a separate liqueur shipment worth about $300,000.
For fleets, brokers and shippers, the case is another reminder that freight fraud is no longer only a paperwork problem. Carrier onboarding, dispatch verification, tracking-device handling and warehouse release controls all become part of the same security chain.
