Trucking news and briefs for Monday, March 9, 2026:
- Fleet owner faces prison time for defrauding Amazon.
- 5 truckers recognized by industry organization.
- Autonomous truck developer plans commercial rollout in 2027.
Trucking company owner pleads guilty to defrauding Amazon
A Connecticut-based trucking company owner, Ameer Nasir, pleaded guilty Friday, March 6, to defrauding Amazon of more than $3.5 million.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut said that, according to court documents and statements made in court, Nasir registered a total of 23 trucking businesses with Amazon Logistics to transport both empty and loaded trailers between cities and Amazon warehouses and fulfillment centers.
One of the accounts registered by Nasir was created in the name of his business, Pak Express Transport LLC. Others, the U.S. Attorney said, were created under false names or by fraudulently using the names and identifying information of other trucking companies without their knowledge.
Between December 2019 and February 2021, Nasir used those accounts to sign up for more than 1,000 loads with Amazon Logistics, manipulated information in Amazon’s system to misrepresent that he had completed trailer movements when he had not, and submitted false invoices to Amazon that were subsequently paid.
Through his scheme, Nasir defrauded Amazon of more than $3.5 million. He was arrested May 8, 2025, and has since pleaded guilty to wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. He has also agreed to pay restitution of $3,547,090.93.
Nasir is released on a $300,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for May 29.
[Related: Fleet owner indicted in $3M fraud scheme against Amazon]
Meet TCA's 5 Drivers of the Year
TCA
The Truckload Carriers Association named five truck drivers the organization’s 2026 Professional Drivers of the Year.
Chosen from a competitive group of nominees, the five drivers were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the trucking industry, their unwavering commitment to safety, and their exceptional leadership both on and off the road. Each driver received $20,000 and was greeted with a standing ovation during the awards ceremony.
The 2026 TCA Professional Drivers of the Year are:
- Tommy Cash, CAST Transportation (South Park Motor Lines)
- Nick Barboza, Covenant
- Marcia Luchenbill, Knight Transportation
- Richard Fertig, Smith Transport Inc.
- Jesus Acevedo-Soto, Swift Transportation
[Related: When the mentored becomes the master: Trucker of the Month Adam Mackey]
According to TCA, Cash is one of only 32 drivers nationwide entrusted with hauling legacy nuclear waste for the U.S. Department of Energy’s WIPP program. Cash’s career behind the wheel spans more than four decades. Since starting in 1983, he has logged an estimated 3.675 million miles, hauling everything from fuel and milk to flatbed and refrigerated freight. Over 43 years, his commitment to safety has remained unmatched, a standard he holds himself to with pride.
For 27 years with Covenant Logistics, Barboza has built one of the company’s strongest safety records, driving more than 3.5 million miles and earning membership in Covenant’s elite 120 Club -- the miles figure is the equivalent of circling the globe 120 times, in Barboz'a and other club members' case without a preventable accident. He achieved it while serving as a trainer, guiding new drivers through their earliest and most vulnerable days on the road.
[Related: 'America's Best Drivers' and new NASTC ambassadors: The 2025 small-trucking team]
With nearly 650,000 career miles, and more than 193,000 accident-free miles in the past two years, Luchenbill is widely regarded as one of the most reliable and safety-minded drivers in her fleet. She consistently qualifies for Knight’s safety bonus and demonstrates disciplined decision-making, particularly on demanding routes with dense traffic. As an Army veteran, Luchenbill’s professionalism earned her selection as a Knight Fleet of Heroes driver, one of the company’s highest honors.
Smith Transport driver Fertig doesn’t describe himself as extraordinary -- he’ll tell you he’s just “doing his job.” But after decades behind the wheel, more than 3 million safe miles, and a reputation that stretches from dispatch offices to loading docks across the country, the trucking industry sees something more: a professional who embodies the very best of what it means to be a driver. A 23-year Army veteran, Fertig has built a career defined by safety, reliability, and quiet leadership.
Acevedo-Soto, nicknamed “Avocado” as a playful twist on his last name, became Swift’s youngest Million Mile Driver at age 28, an extraordinary milestone that earned him a custom avocado-themed truck. He is also a multi-time Diamond Driver, a distinction achieved by maintaining elite safety, fuel efficiency, and mileage standards for 36 consecutive months.
Nominations for the 2027 TCA Professional Drivers of the Year will open this fall.
[Related: Overdrive's 2026 Trucker of the Year honors: Enter your business]
PlusAI targets 2027 for commercial autonomous trucks launch
PlusAI on March 5 announced the release of SuperDrive 6.0, the latest version of its autonomous driving software engineered for commercial-scale deployment.
With the new release, the company said it moves closer to a planned fully driverless commercial operations launch using factory-built autonomous trucks in 2027.
The new release introduces capabilities for commercial freight operations like night driving and construction-zone handling. By boosting the speed of its AI model training by 10 times, SuperDrive 6.0 also enables rapid feature deployment and validation, the company said.
The update builds on more than 7 million miles of real-world driving across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, PlusAI added.
[Related: Driverless-truck tech: Owner-operators worry over cyberattacks, crashes, competition]
“SuperDrive 6.0 isn’t an incremental update; it’s a major advancement of what an autonomous ‘brain’ can do,” said David Liu, company CEO and co-founder. “By adding night driving and construction zone handling, autonomous trucks with SuperDrive could achieve 24/7 commercial operations.”
Autonomous trucks integrated with SuperDrive 6.0 are already moving commercial freight in Texas, the company said, where the Aurora company's autonomous rigs have been active commercially in one form or another for nearly a year. In addition to overall performance boost, the construction zone handling capability on SuperDrive 6.0 is active, and PlusAI expects to release night driving in the coming weeks.
[Related: Aurora adds 1K-mile 'driverless' lane: Will solo HOS regs apply for the in-cab observer?]
