Six Thieves Sentenced to Prison for Massive, Multi-State Cargo Theft Scheme Based out of Miami
Six thieves were recently sentenced to prison for their participation in a massive, multi-state cargo theft conspiracy based out of Miami, Florida. The court convicted one of conspiracy, possession of goods stolen from interstate commerce, and interstate transportation of stolen property, while the other five pled guilty to similar charges.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, between November 2021 and May 2023, the six thieves conspired to steal tractor-trailers carrying high-end electronics and other items. They later resold the products at a discount.
“This was a coordinated, multi-million-dollar criminal operation – not an opportunistic theft,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley.
How the thieves pulled off their cargo heists
The scheme involved the thieves traveling from Florida and Kentucky to distribution facilities used by companies such as Meta, Microsoft, Logitech, and Bose in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Once at the facilities, they surveilled the facilities and followed tractor-trailers as they departed.
When the semi-truck drivers stopped to rest, refuel, or park, the conspirators stole the entire tractor-trailer. Often, they would dump the stolen semi-truck nearby and reattach the trailer to another semi-truck. They would then paint over logos and identifying numbers and attach different license plates. Once that was complete, they would transport the stolen products to Miami, Florida, where they sold them.
The thieves stole millions of dollars’ worth of products, and now they must pay
The thieves pulled off these types of heists at least 14 times. During the thefts, they acquired over $2 million in Oculus virtual reality headsets from a Meta facility, $940,000 in Microsoft products, $1 million in Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret merchandise, $669,000 in Harmon-JBL audio products, $180,000 in Logitech products, and $480,000 worth of Bose audio speakers.
The criminals received prison sentences ranging from time served to 13.5 years in prison. The court also required them to pay almost $7 million in combined restitution.
“These thefts had real consequences for consumers and businesses, increasing costs and disrupting the flow of goods across the country,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.
