The Commercial Vehicle Training Assn. is warning new driver training school graduates of a scam that is fleecing trainees out of hundreds of dollars.

A person posing as a small fleet operator for Werner Enterprises, using the name "Larry White," visited a driver training school in Alabama, ostensibly to recruit a driver. The prospective driver was asked to make a $175 wire transfer to an account in the name of "Carol Nelson" in Las Vegas. The student was to meet the new employer at a truckstop. When the student arrived, there was no truck or employer.
Werner has reported another incident where the same names were used, and says they are aware of other similar incidents.
Another incident happened in Oxnard, CA. The person used the name "Claude Morgan" and said the job was as a co-driver for a small fleet operator with Dick Simon Trucking. The student was asked to make a wire transfer of $210 in order to defray extra fuel costs for a truck to be rerouted in order to pick up the student. The truck never arrived. The phone call was traced to a pay phone in Las Vegas.
"I know of five instances so far," says Mike O'Connell, CVTA president. "My bulletin to CVTA members resulted in another two instances in addition to the three we knew about already."
O'Connell warns that this could happen, not only to driver training students, but to any drivers who are looking to hire on with a small fleet leased to a larger carrier.
"Our advice is never, under any circumstances, send money when you're applying for a job," he says.