28 People Charged with Skimming More Than $1.7 Million from Trucking Companies

A 97-count indictment has been filed charging 28 people with violations including conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering for their roles in a scheme that allegedly skimmed more than $1.7 million from trucking companies according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

It charges that the defendants fraudulently obtained account numbers and codes used by independent trucking companies to wire money to the companies’ drivers from February 2011 through November 2012. 

In a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office it says they accomplished this using electronic fund processing companies such as Fleet One, Comdata, and TCH, but did not say which trucking companies were victims of the alleged scheme.

During this period, known and unknown individuals allegedly obtained account numbers and codes used by trucking companies to issue checks through EFPs. These account numbers and codes were purportedly obtained without the knowledge or consent of the trucking companies. It’s claimed the individuals then provided the stolen account numbers and codes via telephone calls or text messages to the defendants, according to the indictment.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the defendants traveled to truck stops in the Northern District of Ohio and elsewhere.  Once at the truck stops, they posed as truck drivers, approached customer service counters, presented the stolen account numbers and codes, and requested checks from electronic fund processing companies, according to the indicment

Customer service representatives at the truck stops then processed the requests by sending the account numbers and codes via wire to EFP processing centers located outside the Northern District of Ohio. The EFPs then authorized the requests and authorized the truck stop customer service representatives, via wire, to print checks for the defendants. They then endorsed the checks and cashed them at the truck stops, according to the indictment.

“Criminal enterprises are constantly coming up with new ways to rip off companies, consumers and customers,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “This group tried to turn truck stops into their own personal ATMs. We will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to stamp out these schemes.”

Those indicted are: Dilshod Sidikov, aka “Dema”, 24, of Brooklyn, NY; Michael McPherson, 24, of Bronx, NY; Jamarl Gibbs, 29, of Albany, NY; Vernon Parker, 38, of Brooklyn, NY; Ahygia McDowell, 29, of Bronx, NY; Rashaad Forest, 32, of Bronx, NY; William Kelly, 30, of Bronx, NY; Jonas Belizaire, 32, of Bronx, NY; Liza Ortiz, 39, New York, NY; Victoria Alford, aka Victoria Kayeoni Alford, 43, Auburn, NY; Juan Pablo Estevez, 23, Stanton Island, NY; Gilbert Ortega, 38, of Brooklyn, NY; Sharone Lewis, 32, of Brooklyn, NY; Gerald Gomez, 24, of New York, NY; William Whitehead, 28, of Bronx, NY; Mario Flores, 56, of Bronx, NY; Ilya Trakhtenberg, 36, of Brooklyn, NY; Ashle Gardner, 25, of Brooklyn, NY; Paul Garrett, 46, of Bronx, NY; Chad Cook, 35, of Syracuse, NY; Ernest Gonzalez, 45, of Bronx, NY; Anthony Latief King, 42, of Bowie, MD; Johnathan Harris, 23, of Toledo, Ohio; Reginald Nottage, 48, of Brookyln, NY; Paul Grimes, 25, of Bronx, NY; Daniel Nieves, 25, of Bronx, NY; Igor Bekkerman, 41, of Denver, and Erna Kobrinsky, 42, of Hallandale Beach, FL.

Count 1 of the indictment charges the following defendants with conspiracy to commit wire fraud: Dilshod Sidikov, aka “Dema”; Michael McPherson; Jamarl Gibbs; Vernon Parker; Ahygia McDowell; Rashaad Forest; William Kelly; Jonas Belizaire; Liza Ortiz; Victoria Alford, aka Victoria Kayeoni Alford; Juan Pablo Estevez; Gilbert Ortega; Sharone Lewis; Gerald Gomez; William Whitehead; Mario Flores; Ilya Trakhtenberg; Ashle Gardner; Paul Garrett; Chad Cook; Ernest Gonzalez; Anthony Latief King; Johnathan Harris, Reginald Nottage, Paul Grimes, and Daniel Nieves.

Counts 2 through 96 of the indictment charges the following defendants with wire fraud: Vernon Parker; Ahygia McDowell; Rashaad Forest; Jonas Belizaire; Liza Ortiz; Victoria Alford, aka Victoria Kayeoni Alford; Juan Pablo Estevez; Gilbert Ortega; Sharone Lewis; Gerald Gomez;  William Whitehead; Mario Flores; Ilya Trakhtenberg;  Chad Cook; Ernest Gonzalez; and Johnathan Harris.

Count 97 of the indictment charges the following defendants with money laundering: Dilshod Sidikov, aka “Dema”; Ilya Trakhtenberg; Ahygia McDowell; Daniel Neives; Igor Bekkerman; and Erna Kobrinsky.  From about February 2011, and continuing to on or about November 2012, the defendants allegedly conspired to launder money by transferring the proceeds of this scheme from bank accounts in New York, Russia and Uzbekistan and then back again to bank accounts in New York, according to the indictment.