Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, May 27, 2026:
- Lumper fraud? Missouri man alleged to have created $250K worth of fake invoices for fake unloads.
- Six-month interstate closure begins in June.
- Border officers catch truck driver with $14M in meth.
Lumper charged for defrauding trucking companies, grocer out of $250K
A Missouri-based lumper has been accused of stealing more than $250,000 from trucking companies and a grocery chain and subsequently arrested.
Richard Lind, 39, of Florissant, Missouri, was indicted with five counts of wire fraud on April 22. He appeared in court last week and pleaded not guilty.
The indictment alleged that Lind worked as the site manager for a logistics company at a grocer’s distribution center. Lind’s employer supplied lumper services -- both the labor and equipment to unload trailers -- as well as software for tracking shipments.
Lind allegedly defrauded the grocery chain by creating false records for inventory shipments that had never occurred, and false invoices seeking payment from the trucking companies for unloading those fake loads, according to the indictment. The trucking companies then sought reimbursement from the grocery chain.
Lind then allegedly voided the false records to conceal his scheme from his employer. He used the electronic payment authorization codes that resulted from his scheme to obtain cash payments at truck stops, triggering more than 600 payments totaling more than $250,000, the indictment alleged.
[Related: Lumper fees: Sometimes a little pushback works]
Full I-70 closure planned through December
The Kansas Department of Transportation has scheduled the full closure of I-70 in downtown Topeka to begin in June as part of the Polk-Quincy Viaduct (PQV) project. Additional short-term closures on local roadways are also planned.
Starting Monday, June 8, all lanes of I-70 between Topeka Boulevard and 8th Avenue are scheduled to close until December. During the closure, project work will focus on removing the existing viaduct and completing the new structures. Construction will also continue on the new I-70 lanes and local street network.
The closure’s designated detour will direct I-70 through traffic to I-470. Access to and from the downtown area can be made via the I-70 ramps at MacVicar Avenue, Topeka Boulevard, 8th Avenue and 10th Avenue. Kansas Avenue and Topeka Boulevard will also be open.
Travelers are encouraged to review the I-470 detour and other alternative routes prior to the closure.
Removal of the existing viaduct will start Tuesday, June 9. Temporary closures will occur on portions of Kansas Avenue, Topeka Boulevard and I-70. Plan for the following:
- Tuesday, June 9, and Wednesday, June 10, from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.: Kansas Avenue will be closed between 1st and 3rd streets. A detour will be marked on 3rd Street, Topeka Boulevard and N.W. Morse Street.
- Friday, June 12, from 11 p.m. until Monday, June 15, at 4 a.m.: Topeka Boulevard will be closed between 1st and 3rd streets. Through traffic can follow the detour on 3rd Street, Kansas Avenue and N.W. Morse Street.
During the weekend closure, southbound Topeka Boulevard will have access to the WB I-70 on-ramp, and NB Topeka Boulevard will be directed to 6th Street and MacVicar Avenue to access WB I-70. EB I-70 will also be closed starting at MacVicar Avenue. EB motorists can follow the local detour -- MacVicar Avenue to 6th Avenue to Topeka Boulevard to the 10th Avenue I-70 on-ramp.
[Related: I-84 road work incoming]
$14M in alleged meth in load of lettuce: Border bust
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility in Pharr, Texas, intercepted $14.7 million worth of alleged methamphetamine concealed in a commercial trailer.
Physical inspection of the trailer resulted in the extraction of 307 packages of alleged methamphetamine with a combined weight of 1,644.64 lbs. (746 kg.) concealed within the trailer.U.S. Customs and Border Protection
CBP officers seized the narcotics and vehicle. Homeland Security Investigations special agents initiated a criminal investigation.
“This massive load of hard narcotics will not make it to American streets, thanks to our CBP officers’ commitment to border security,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry. “Through the effective utilization of nonintrusive inspection technology and officer experience, as this seizure illustrates, our frontline CBP officers are protecting the homeland from the scourge of highly addictive narcotics, to include methamphetamine.”
