Recent activity has been reported by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the Chief Financial Officer of Florida regarding three trucking-related offenses, which include a CDL testing scheme, a household goods moving scheme, and insurance fraud.
New York Trucker Sentenced for CDL Testing Scheme
Aziz Akhrorov, a truck driver from Queens, New York, received a sentence of time served, alongside a $1,000 fine and a $100 special court assessment after admitting to his involvement in a conspiracy to illegally produce Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs).
The OIG reported that Akhrorov compromised testing procedures at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles by recruiting CDL applicants from New York, many of whom were of Russian heritage. He referred these applicants to his accomplice, Taras Chabanovych, who for fees of up to $2,600 per referral assisted them in acquiring fake Florida residency documents and helped them pass the CDL exam.
New Jersey HHG Moving Company Employee Arrested
Richard Bishara from Paramus, New Jersey, was arrested for conspiracy to engage in fraud related to a scheme involving household goods moving.
Bishara and his associates allegedly operated several companies between May 2010 and February 2015, providing deceptively low price estimates for moving goods, loading the customers’ items onto trucks, and then increasing the prices after the goods were no longer under the customers’ control.
The OIG indicated that the companies consistently inflated their final prices beyond the limits established for estimates set by federal regulations.
Miami Trucking Company Owner Arrested for Insurance Fraud
This month, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, announced the arrest of Kenny Niebla, the owner-operator of Andoba Trucking Company and Sea Trucking based in Hialeah, for allegedly selling fraudulent insurance policies with certificates totaling nearly $60,000 to three local truck operators.
Investigators discovered that Niebla collected monthly insurance premium payments from October 2017 to June 2018. Records showed he received $59,675 in premium payments that were never applied to any insurance policy as promised, with Niebla keeping the money for personal use. This fraudulent activity came to light when one of the trucks was involved in an accident that resulted in more than $78,000 in uninsured damages.
