Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, April 9, 2026:
- Alleged cargo thief faces decade-plus in prison.
- Postal Service bribery scheme: 99 months' combined federal prison time.
- Stolen cars recovered in-transit.
Accused cargo thief officially charged in court
A New York man arrested and charged earlier this year by the FBI for his alleged involvement in a double-brokering cargo theft scheme has officially been charged for allegedly conspiring to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of cargo and sell the items for profit.
The goods allegedly stolen include beer worth approximately $35,200; 33,750 pounds of frozen snow crabs worth approximately $325,000; pallets of blueberries; and more than $430,000 worth of designer cologne.
Romoy Forbes, 31, a Jamaican national living in Deer Park, New York, was indicted for interstate transportation of stolen goods, and conspiracy to commit the offense. Forbes was previously arrested on Feb. 5 in Long Island, New York, after being charged by complaint in the District of Massachusetts. He was later released on conditions and April 7 was arraigned in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts.
According to the indictment, Forbes and his co-conspirators were able to steal the goods partly through fraudulent emails that they sent to shippers. The emails were made to appear as if sent by legitimate trucking companies, offering and agreeing to receive and deliver goods the shippers had advertised needing transportation.
On July 15, 2025, Forbes allegedly obtained the frozen snow crab from a storage warehouse in Worcester. It intended to be delivered on behalf of a freight service company based in Maine to a customer in Jacksonville, Florida. Forbes allegedly procured the seafood by falsely representing he acted on behalf of a trucking company based in Illinois. Instead of delivering the goods to the true customer in Florida, Forbes allegedly transported it to a loading dock in Queens, New York.
Similar schemes before and after the alleged seafood heist involved the beer, blueberries and cologne, according to charging documents.
The charge of interstate transportation of stolen goods provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The conspiracy charge could carry up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
[Related: Cargo theft proliferation ups the ante on truckers' prevention]
Four sentenced in USPS bribery scheme
Four people involved in a United States Postal Service bribery scheme were sentenced to a combined 99 months in federal prison, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
According to court documents, a former Senior Network Analyst for the USPS, Zechariah Yi, 52 of Aurora, Colorado, and a second USPS employee, Tai Ryoung Rho, 51 of Aurora, pled guilty to a bribery scheme in which they solicited and received approximately $1.5 million in kickbacks from the owners and associates of multiple trucking companies. Bribes were made in exchange for agreeing to help the trucking companies obtain USPS service contracts worth approximately $15 million.
Wan Jin Yoon, 51 of Plano, Texas, and Hong Jin Yoon, 48 of Denver, owned those trucking companies. Rho, Wan Yoon, and Hong Yoon each pled guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. Yi pled guilty to receiving a bribe by a public official.
On March 26 and 27, U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer imposed the following federal prison sentences:
- Yi was sentenced to 42 months
- Rho: 30 months
- Wan Yoon: 24 months
- Hong Yoon: 3 months
Defendants also agreed to forfeit two vehicles and more than $300,000 cash.
“At the expense of the integrity and fairness of the government contracting process, these defendants resorted to bribery and corruption simply to line their own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Raybould. “The diligent work of our law enforcement partners led to a successful prosecution of these fraudsters by my office. This outcome should serve as a warning to others contemplating such behavior, that we will hold every person accountable for fraud schemes of this nature.”
[Related: Fraud: Carriers getting smart, FMCSA bringing heat]
Stolen vehicles recovered in-transit
Two tractor-trailers were intercepted in the early morning hours of Monday, April 6, along I-10 east of San Antonio, Texas, with six stolen vehicles worth more than $470,000 -- believed to have been headed for Honduras.
The Guadalupe County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office, along with the Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office, stopped the trucks.
Two Honduran nationals were arrested and charged with theft of property valued between $150,000 and $300,000. The suspects are 19-year-old Pedro Velasquez, currently residing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and 48-year-old Dany Arias-Tucios, of Honduras.
The trucks, trailers and vehicles remain in custody pending further identification and possible seizure.
The investigation into the origin of the stolen vehicles is ongoing, and additional charges or arrests may follow.
Anyone with any information related to this case or other vehicle thefts in the area are asked to submit an anonymous tip to Guadalupe County Crime Stoppers by calling 1-877-403-TIPS (8477), visiting guadalupecountycrimestoppers.org, or using the P3Tips app. Eligible tips may qualify for a cash reward.
