The former owner and president of a household goods mover has been sentenced in a scheme to swindle customers out of money.

Randy Goldberg, of National Moving Network, a Miami, Fla., based household goods broker, was sentenced in late February by a U.S. District Court, San Jose, Calif., to 18 months incarceration, followed by three years supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $829,000 in restitution to hundreds of victims.

An investigation by the Inspector General’s Office at the U.S. Transportation Department determined that NMN and another company, AY Transport, San Jose, Calif., participated in a "low-ball estimate" scheme. As part of its daily business practice, NMN booked moves nationwide and then referred a majority of the moves to AY Transport, who then charged customers fees above and beyond NMN published tariff rates, according to the IG.

In 2003, the Inspector General began investigating owners and employees of National Moving Network and AY Transport. 

In 2012, Brandi Aycock, sales manager for NMN, was charged with the failure to observe published moving tariffs. She subsequently pleaded guilty to the charges and the court sentenced her to serve six months of probation. She was also ordered to pay $10,765 restitution to two NMN victims.

The same year, Stuart Sheinfield, an estimator for NMN, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, San Jose, Calif., to similar charges and was sentenced to 12 months probation, and ordered to pay $4900 in restitution to his victims. 

Several others have been charged and pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme.