Two brothers have pled guilty to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States government. The brothers ran approximately 20 different carriers in order to avoid fines and out-of-service orders issued to them for safety violations, hazmat violations, and numerous vehicle crashes.
Between the two of them, Jay and Garret Barber owned Factory Direct Foods, Reliable Transportation Services, and many more trucking companies. The first company, Factory Direct Foods, was registered by Jay in Utah in 2006. Everything was normal until 2009 when the FMCSA put them out of service after the carrier failed a compliance review.
Instead of paying the fine, Jay transferred operations over to another trucking company he had registered, Reliable Transportation Services. When his trucks racked up other safety violations, Jay filed paperwork with the FMCSA claiming that the vehicles belonged to someone else.
Finally, Reliable’s run ended when it was proved – despite fraudulent bills of lading – that the company was illegally hauling hazmat loads. Of course, rather than pay the $220,000 fine, Jay enlisted his brother Garrett to help him.
Together the brothers created and ran at least 20 different trucking companies. All of the companies listed other people as the owner, but in reality, it was the brothers running the show.
Finally, in 2017 the Barber brothers were indicted for violating the OOS order Jay had received five years earlier. Both brothers pled guilty to wire fraud.
Jay has been ordered to serve 37 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and must pay $403,941.70. Garret will avoid prison time, but has been ordered to serve 18 months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, and must pay $920,457.30.
Including the fines accrued by the brothers, they will need to pay around $1.5 million.
Source: overdrive, freightwaves, benzinga
So… In the 14 years that they were running this scam, they made how much more than they’ve been ordered to pay?
If they weren’t paying their fines, were they paying their taxes? Running off-road diesel in their power units? If you’re not going to follow the rules, why follow any of them? How much did they not get charged with, in exchange for pleading guilty?
How gilded is Garrett’s house-arrest cage, and Jay’s commissary account?
I bet instead of bunks in sleep they had 2 55 drums and a pump to syphon diesel at truckstops at night from other trucks
Oh look at that…crooks. Turns out not only Russians and other Slavs are crooks but even the Americans!!? 😱
Nothing has been reported that neither scumbag can ever be licensed to operate a cmv in the future, or have anything to do with any trucking company either. This type of behavior proved financially beneficial to both of the, and their families, bet one or both will make the news again for the same business practices.
That jail sentence is a joke. Why don’t they give them an attaboy for screwing the government. they both should run for office. They would fit in with the rest of the crooks in DC.
Lol like they didnt do what foreign owned trucking companies do on a daily basis. They just got caught. Probably because they could actually be identified correctly.
The Pope doesn’t need the fine money’s. Don’t you know that’s where it all goes to. Let them free. This is the USA and of the Free.
Well with all this rules and regulation and loads paying an all time low for the last couple of years ..u have to do what ever means necessary to make a living the government has nickel and dimed trucking companies. So many bankrupt companies..I dont blame the brothers for trying to make it ..hats off to them
They ran a company called Lobos Interstate services that was a trucking school. Then started mc and dot numbers for each student charged them 6000 and tried to screw them at .26 cents a mile