Far too often, owners of unsafe trucking companies are able to close their doors after an accident or OOS order and then just reopen the next day under a new name. Enforcement agencies can find themselves playing whack-a-mole with these “chameleon carriers.” But in one instance at least, the owner of one such carrier has pled guilty to charges relating to reincarnating his shuttered business under a new name.
In December of 2014, the FMCSA issued an out-of-service order to AV Trinity for safety issues and ordered it to cease all transportation operations. The owner of the company then simply reincarnated his under the name VN Trucking.
While he was operating VN Trucking, an investigation revealed that the owner was part of a CDL fraud case where, until late 2015, he conspired to help drivers obtain illegal CDLs and CDL permits.
Eventually, the FMCSA ordered the owner to cease operations of VN Trucking as well. Even after the second OOS order however, he continued running VN Trucking through other motor carriers, using VN bank accounts to accept payments and pay expenses, and even worked in the same office as before.
Though he was initially charged with more, as part of a deal he pled guilty to the use of a facility in interstate commerce to promote unlawful activity.
According to the OIG report, “He admitted that he knowingly and intentionally caused the transmission of a registration document to FMCSA in the name of a reincarnated carrier with the intent to distribute the proceeds of an unlawful activity.”
Source: gobytrucknews, DOT, OIG, overdrive
royce says
You expected a trucking company owner to act any diffently? The ones that deal off the top of a single deck go out of business.
Acajoe says
It isn’t easy. But I’m not out of business yet!
S Hart says
I followed the link to the DOT in the story, and saw this was in Philly with two guys with Russian names. I will swear there was a story on them in either Truckers Report or Over Drive with fraudulent CDL activity!
Reno Blues says
That name did seem to ring a bell…