Moving Fraud Research
Original investigations into moving industry fraud patterns. Backed by FMCSA data, cross-referenced review analysis, and interviews with legal professionals specializing in moving fraud.
98 investigations published. Sources: FMCSA SAFER, BBB, Google, Yelp, Reddit, Facebook, MovingScam.com, Surface Transportation Board records, FOIA responses.
Six Chameleon Carriers, False Federal Filings, Dozens of Defrauded Consumers. The Sentence: Zero Prison.
United States v. Nadel is the only federal criminal prosecution of a household goods chameleon carrier network to reach sentencing in recent years. The father got 18 months. The son got zero prison. The total scheme generated $336,312. The restitution to 51 victims totaled $119,563. The FBI only learned about the fraud because a consumer filed a civil lawsuit.
A Florida Broker on FMCSA's Enforcement Closed List Dispatched to an Unauthorized Carrier. $49,319 in Belongings Were Stolen or Destroyed.
DA Moving LLC d/b/a Graceful Moving Group hired a carrier whose FMCSA authorization was being involuntarily revoked. The consumer filed a 32-page lawsuit. The companies could not be served. The case was dismissed.
A Federal RICO Complaint Against a Moving Broker: Fabricated Reviews, a Multi-State Corporate Network, and a No-Show Scheme That Settled
In 2022, consumers filed a federal civil RICO case against Value Added Moving in the Southern District of Florida. The 28-page complaint documented fabricated website testimonials, a three-state corporate structure, named individuals, and a pattern of wire fraud. The case settled.
The Dual Authority Scam: How a Broker Leases One Truck and Becomes a 'Carrier' Overnight
A moving broker with 2 complaints in 2024 leased a truck, obtained carrier authority, and hit 178 complaints in 2026. The one-truck lease lets brokers dodge bond claims, avoid disclosure requirements, and represent themselves as carriers to consumers who were warned to avoid brokers.
Why Moving Scammers Target Seniors. The Playbook Is Always the Same.
Widowed. Downsizing. Selling the house. Leaving a bad situation. Every documented case on Trunk involving a senior or vulnerable consumer follows the same six-step pattern. The scammers are not improvising. They are running a script.
You Already Have Full Value Protection. Here Is How Brokers Take It Away.
Federal law gives consumers Full Value Protection by default. To drop to $0.60 per pound, YOU must sign a waiver. Trunk reviewed court-filed estimates from five brokers and found three distinct methods used to strip consumers of coverage they never knew they had.
She Was Fleeing an Abusive Relationship. The Movers Extorted Her on the Truck.
Elizabeth B. hired AB Moving Services out of New Jersey. They dispatched JCS Moving, the documented Handle With Care chameleon carrier. The driver demanded cash for individual pieces of furniture, threw her couch in the garage when she refused, and pocketed $1,000. She paid $21,000 total. Her belongings ended up in a storage unit rented under the driver's name.
Arrested in Illinois, Operating in Florida: How Rafael Ohanesyan Moved From Spark Moving to Bulls Moving to Hercules Moving Solutions
Rafael Ohanesyan has been connected to moving fraud for over a decade. Spark Moving was revoked by Illinois and FMCSA. Bulls Moving generated 12+ AG investigations and a $39,000 uncollected judgment. Now Hercules Moving Solutions has 113 federal complaints and is a defendant in Peterfai v. USA Logistics. The operator persists.
Five Companies, One Move, One Network: Mapping the Entities Behind Danielle's $6,719 Nightmare
A consumer hired United Express. Five company names appeared. Trunk traced the phone number, the supervisor, and the shared addresses. The result: a mapped South Florida network spanning at least 8 DOT numbers, two address hubs, and one person who manages four of them.
Choice Van Lines: Four Complaints in Three Weeks From a Saddle Brook Carrier
A New Jersey carrier based in Saddle Brook, operating out of U-Haul trucks, has generated four consumer complaints in less than a month. Every complaint describes the same pattern: signed contracts ignored, prices doubled at pickup, and belongings that vanish after loading.
Five Companies, One Move: How a $3,500 Quote Became $6,719 and Involved Five Different Business Names
A consumer hired one company. Five showed up. The driver lost his keys, one mover quit over $60 pay, and the truck sat in front of her house for three days.
13 Firearms, a GPS Tracker, and an Erosion Control Warehouse: Inside JCS Moving and Storage
Two consumers independently traced their belongings to the same pattern: Menards brokers the move, JCS takes possession, and the shipment disappears into an unauthorized warehouse in rural Missouri.
Gold Standard Went Down. What Happened to the Other Three Abrams Companies?
Charles Abrams operated Gold Standard Moving and Storage out of Pompano Beach until the FL AG secured a permanent injunction. But FMCSA records link him to three other DOT numbers: United American Moving, Razor Van Lines, and Executive Van Lines. If enforcement shut one name, did it shut the operator?
ASAP Relocations: Six Company Names, Eight Charged, Five Never Found
A Santa Clara County grand jury charged eight individuals for a seven-year household goods fraud scheme operating under six company names. Five defendants fled and remain DOT OIG fugitives. Two were sentenced. One victim, defrauded in the mid-2000s, was defrauded again twenty years later by a different company using the identical playbook.
AY Transport: 1,000 Victims, 14 Indicted, and Two Fugitives the Government Considers Armed and Dangerous
In December 2007, 14 people were indicted for conspiracy and extortion connected to a California-based moving company that defrauded over 1,000 consumers. Two fugitives remain flagged Armed and Dangerous by DOT OIG. One co-defendant was a fugitive for 11 years before being captured at San Francisco International Airport.
Cross Country Movers: A $78,000 Consent Judgment, a Cease and Desist to a Victim, and a CBS Investigation
Cross Country Movers (DOT 2780116) and Cross Country Long Distance Movers (DOT 3051646), both tied to Yehoshua Vaknin, have accumulated 128 NCCDB complaints. After the Florida AG secured a $78,000 consent judgment, the operation continued. When a consumer reported to the FBI and DOT, the company's attorney sent her a cease and desist calling it harassment.
The DOT's Most Wanted: 34 Moving Fraud Fugitives the Government Can't Find
The Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General maintains a Most Wanted Fugitives list. Of the 36 people on it, 34 are charged with Fraud Involving Moving Company. Two are flagged Armed and Dangerous. Most have never been found.
The Operator Behind Spirit Vanlines, Handle With Care, and JCS Moving: A Decade of Reincarnation
Moran Eli Hasut has operated under at least four company names since 2016. Spirit Vanlines lost its license in 2018 and renamed itself on air. Handle With Care was revoked three times. JCS Moving was registered five days before the final revocation. The same operator, the same patterns, the same broker, for ten years.
One Attorney, Three of the Most-Complained Moving Companies in America
Lorri Lomnitzer of the Lomnitzer Law Firm in Boca Raton represents Safe Ship Moving Services (404 NCCDB complaints), Colonial Van Lines (121 NCCDB), and Amerisafe Vanlines (293 NCCDB). Combined: 818 NCCDB complaints and over 1,000 BBB complaints across three clients. Public records tell the story.
Midland Van Lines to Global Tranz: How a 101-Complaint Carrier Became Someone Else's Problem
Midland Van Lines (DOT 3443886) accumulated 101 NCCDB complaints operating 12 trucks out of Miami. Then Global Trans Van Lines (DOT 4485687) appeared in Shelby, North Carolina, with 20 complaints in its first months and a reported DOT task force investigation.
Operation Stow Biz: The Largest Moving Fraud Prosecution in American History
In February 2003, the FBI concluded a two-year investigation that produced 74 indictments across 16 moving companies in South Florida. It remains the largest criminal prosecution of moving fraud ever conducted in the United States. The scheme it documented is identical to what Trunk tracks in 2026.
Safe Ship Is Suing Its Own Carriers. The Court Filings Show How the Money Flows.
Three lawsuits in Palm Beach County. 49 consumer shipments held hostage. A broker-carrier agreement showing the broker keeps 60% and all binding estimate fees. A confidentiality clause designed to keep the margins secret. The documents the moving industry never wanted consumers to see.
$139,000 Federal Judgment. They Didn't Show Up. They Didn't Pay. They Opened a New Company.
A consumer won a six-figure default judgment against Movers and Packers Relocation Specialists LLC under the Carmack Amendment. The company never appeared in court. The judgment is uncollectable. The operators moved on to the next company name. This is why chameleon carriers work.
Every Company Within Two Links of Safe Ship Moving Services
Safe Ship Moving Services (USDOT 3475743) has 321 NCCDB complaints and 763 BBB complaints. Trunk mapped every company connected to it through shared ownership, shared phone numbers, shared attorneys, carrier dispatch records, and Florida corporate filings. The network spans 369 DOT numbers and over 4,100 combined complaints.
Follow the Registered Agent: The Corporate Filing Patterns Behind Moving Fraud
Fraud movers do not operate single companies. They operate portfolios. Corporate filings reveal the structure: shared addresses, shell entities, management companies, and real estate LLCs that tie the network together. Here is how to read the paper trail.
The Addresses Where 10+ Moving Companies Are Registered: Fraud Hub Mapping
Trunk mapped every address in federal carrier records where multiple household goods movers share a registration. Some are legitimate van line headquarters. Others are fraud incubators where shell companies are created, used, and discarded.
The New Jersey Warehouse Corridor: Where Consumer Belongings Go Between Pickup and Delivery
A cluster of warehouse addresses in Fairfield, Garfield, Hawthorne, and Clifton, New Jersey appear on the registrations of dozens of interstate moving companies with hundreds of combined federal complaints. These are the physical locations where consumer belongings change hands between pickup and delivery.
Two Fraud Networks Became One: How the Qarmout Operation Reportedly Merged Into the Sherwood Lane Network
A source with direct knowledge of the NJ moving fraud landscape reports that Shadi Qarmout sold the Movers and Packers operation to Joe Hannouch, connecting two networks Trunk has been tracking separately. The FBI was watching. This is a developing story.
The Companies FMCSA Revoked That Are Still Advertising on Google
FMCSA revocation is supposed to mean a moving company can no longer operate. In practice, revoked and out-of-service carriers keep their websites up, maintain Google Business profiles, and continue getting dispatched by brokers. We tracked the ones still advertising.
One Move, Multiple Company Names: Why Your Mover Operates Under Different Names
When the company you booked, the company that shows up, the name on your bill of lading, and the Zelle payment request are all different entities, something is wrong. Here is how the multiple-name problem works and why it harms consumers.
The Fraud Carriers: The Companies That Show Up for Multiple Scam Brokers
Everyone focuses on the brokers. But the carriers they dispatch to are the ones who arrive with the truck, demand cash, and hold belongings hostage. Some of these carriers work for multiple fraud brokers simultaneously. They are the supply side of the scam ecosystem.
Where Do Your Belongings Go Between Pickup and Delivery?
Consumers tracked their stolen goods to warehouses in New Jersey, Kansas, and Georgia. The storage leg of your move is the least regulated and most dangerous part of the process.
A Moving Fraud Operator Who Threatened Victims Is Recruiting Drivers Again. Now We Know the Company Names.
Jennifer Tattoli, connected to a New Jersey fraud network that generated a $30,000 scam and a Florida AG enforcement action, is now linked to Frontier Moving Solutions and Top Moving Solutions in Fort Lauderdale. The pattern continues.
Every Local News Investigation Into Moving Fraud (2025-2026)
Local TV stations have investigated more moving fraud cases in the last 18 months than at any point in the last decade. Here is every documented investigation Trunk has tracked, in chronological order.
85 Flagged Moving Brokers in 2026: Complaint Data and Patterns
Trunk's database contains 85 moving brokers flagged to avoid, collectively holding 4,842 NCCDB complaints. This is the ranked list, sourced directly from FMCSA records.
Moving Companies Currently Under Investigation (2026)
Active lawsuits, federal investigations, AG enforcement actions, and authority revocations involving household goods movers. Updated regularly from court records and public filings.
Convicted of Wire Fraud. Paid 6% of Restitution. Violated Probation. Got New FMCSA Broker Authority.
Farah Al-Ibrahim pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a moving scam network. She paid $4,900 of $75,193 in restitution, opened unauthorized credit accounts while on probation, and was granted new FMCSA broker authority before her supervision expired.
The Leavenworth Warehouse: A Moving Fraud Investigation in Real Time
A warehouse in Leavenworth, Kansas stores consumer belongings from multiple moving companies. The operator was identified in eviction court. The landlords can't get in. The consumers can't get their stuff. This is a live timeline.
Safe Ship Is Disappearing. Here Is What That Looks Like.
The most-complained moving broker in America removed its Google profile, altered its Yelp page, and acquired a carrier in California. Federal investigators are suggesting consumers pressure the Florida Attorney General. This is what it looks like when a fraud operation prepares for its next phase.
Howards Van Lines Is Threatening Consumers With Collections While Fighting Its Own Eviction
On August 20, 2026, the company that has accumulated 166 federal complaints sent a formal collections notice to a consumer who cancelled her booking. The same day, the warehouse where other consumers' belongings are stored was the subject of an eviction proceeding.
FMCSA Had a Way to Get Your Money Back From Hostage Movers. They Cancelled It.
From 2015 to 2020, FMCSA could force carriers to compensate hostage load victims or lose their license. The agency cancelled the policy after the Riojas decision stripped its enforcement authority. Nothing replaced it.
The Lawyers, Clauses, and Arbitrators That Protect Moving Fraud
Scam movers do not operate alone. They are supported by a legal infrastructure of specialized law firms, one-sided contract clauses, and mover-friendly arbitration providers. Here is how it works, and who is fighting back.
Nine Company Names, Fake Five-Star Reviews, and $12 Million in Fraud: The FBI Case That Proves You Cannot Trust Online Ratings
Matthew Pardi operated under nine different moving company names, created fake reviews on BBB and Yelp, and stole the identities of legitimate companies. The FBI documented every tactic in a federal indictment. He still fooled consumers who did their research.
FMCSA Won't Enforce. So Who Actually Fights Moving Fraud?
The agency responsible for protecting consumers has closed zero broker enforcement cases since September 2024. The FBI, DOT Inspector General, state attorneys general, retired lawyers, nonprofit watchdogs, and investigative journalists have stepped into the vacuum.
The Most-Complained Moving Broker in America Bought a Consumer Protection Group
Safe Ship Moving Services CEO Roger Vance paid to take over admin control of a Facebook group created to warn consumers about moving scams. Consumer posts were deleted. The group may now be gone entirely.
A Consumer Hired a Moving Company. They Stole His Firearms.
When James R.' belongings arrived in Alaska, every gun was gone. The carrier's authority has been revoked. Nobody has been charged. There is no chain-of-custody tracking in the moving industry.
14 Regulatory Changes That Would End Moving Fraud Tomorrow
Congress doesn't need to pass new laws. FMCSA and the Surface Transportation Board already have the authority to make these changes through rulemaking. A retired transportation attorney explains what they are and why they haven't happened.
Your 5-Star Rating, Their Scam: How Fraudulent Movers Hijack Legitimate Companies' Names
Scam movers steal the names and reputations of legitimate companies. The real companies get the bad reviews. The scam companies get the customers. FMCSA's registration system makes this possible.
A Retired Judge's Holocaust Heirlooms Were Held Hostage. He Filed a $5 Million Class Action.
Jeffrey Spinner, a retired New York Supreme Court judge, specifically asked if the company was a broker. They said no. Then a different company showed up, loaded his family's irreplaceable heirlooms, and demanded thousands in cash ransom. The company's license was already revoked.
229 Federal Complaints, 427 BBB Cases, and an Owner Who Ignored the Attorney General's Subpoena
Coastal Moving Services is the #4 most-complained moving company in America. Its owner Robert Castro runs four companies from the same Boca Raton address. When the Florida AG subpoenaed him, he didn't show up.
Florida Took Down One Moving Fraud Network. The Bigger Ones Are Still Running.
Florida's Attorney General secured a permanent injunction against Gold Standard Moving and 9 connected companies. Amerisafe settled with penalties and restitution. Coastal's owner ignored the AG subpoena. Menards (331 complaints, accelerating) and Safe Ship (404 complaints) have had no AG action.
The 'Best Movers' Lists That Sell Your Data to the Worst Ones
Review sites rank movers by who pays the most, then sell your contact information to the companies they recommend. Here is how the lead generation pipeline works.
Why South Florida Is the Moving Fraud Capital of America
98 flagged movers. One 50-mile corridor. Boca Raton to Fort Lauderdale. This is where moving scams are manufactured at scale.
FMCSA's Own Rules Say They Should Have Caught This
The agency publishes vetting criteria, requires affiliation disclosures, and maintains complaint data. Then it approves the carriers that violate all three.
The San Fernando Valley Moving Fraud Cluster: Van Nuys to Chatsworth
62 flagged movers in California, with the highest concentration in the San Fernando Valley. B&B Transportation, USA Logistics, and dozens more operate from the same neighborhoods.
Military Families Are Prime Targets for Moving Fraud. The Worst Offenders Market Directly to Them.
Service members on PCS orders can't delay their moves. Brokers with hundreds of federal complaints know that, and they use military imagery, charity claims, and press coverage to build trust before dispatching untested carriers.
We Used FMCSA's Own Data to Find 11,135 Shared-Ownership Connections. Here's What Was Hiding in Plain Sight.
FMCSA's public systems contain officer names, addresses, phone numbers, and authority records for every registered mover in America. Cross-referencing them reveals fraud networks the agency has not detected.
The #1 Moving Complaint Is Actually a Felony. FMCSA Doesn't Enforce It.
Estimates/Final Charges is the most common complaint in the FMCSA database. What most consumers don't know: intentional tariff pricing violations carry penalties up to $205,375 per violation and two years imprisonment.
FMCSA Eastern Region: New Jersey Drives the Complaint Numbers
The Eastern FMCSA region spans 14 states from Maine to Virginia, but one state dominates the complaint data. New Jersey, with just 76 companies carrying complaints, accounts for 59% of the region's total. The Sherwood Lane warehouse cluster in Fairfield, NJ, connects multiple shell companies to a known fraud network.
FMCSA Midwestern Region: Small Operators, Big Complaint Rates
The Midwestern FMCSA region has the fewest registered companies of any region, but the highest per-company complaint rate when adjusted for size. It is also the only region where Loss and Damage complaints outnumber Estimates/Final Charges. The top offenders are almost all single-truck operators, a pattern consistent with rental truck fraud.
FMCSA Southern Region: 76% of All Moving Complaints Come From Here
The Southern FMCSA region, covering Florida, Georgia, Texas, and nine other states, generates more than three-quarters of all NCCDB complaints nationwide. The data reveals a fraud epicenter driven almost entirely by Florida-based brokers who dispatch carriers across the country.
FMCSA Western Region: California's Carrier Problem
The Western FMCSA region covers 15 states from California to Hawaii. Unlike the Southern Region, where brokers drive complaint volumes, the Western Region's complaints are more carrier-driven. California alone accounts for 80% of regional complaints, with a small number of high-volume carriers generating disproportionate numbers.
Safe Ship Claims 'High Standards' for Carrier Vetting. We Checked Their Carrier List.
The most-complained-about moving broker in America publishes a list of 1,080 carriers it dispatches to. 100 have revoked or inactive authority. Their combined complaint count: 2,954.
The Supreme Court Just Made Brokers Liable for the Carriers They Choose. Here's What It Means for Moving Consumers.
Montgomery v. Caribe Transport stripped brokers of their legal shield. The $604 million C.H. Robinson verdict followed. For household goods consumers, the question is whether anyone will apply these rulings to the brokers generating 404 complaints.
A Navy Officer's Belongings Disappeared. The Moving Broker Says It's Not Their Problem.
Ke Wang hired the most-complained-about moving broker in America for a PCS move. Safe Ship dispatched a carrier that wasn't incorporated when FMCSA licensed it. The goods have been missing for over a year.
Penske Trucks, No DOT Numbers, No Reply: How Rental Companies Enable Moving Fraud
Rogue carriers with 1 registered truck run fleets of rental vehicles invisible to FMCSA's safety system. Penske knows repeat renters are a problem. It has not addressed how its trucks are used for hostage loads.
California Moving Complaints: 2,042 Companies and a Different Pattern Than Florida
California has nearly as many registered movers as Florida but a fraction of the complaints. The data suggests a fundamentally different industry structure: more carriers, fewer brokers, and a complaint profile driven by operational failures rather than systematic fraud.
Florida Moving Complaints: 2,593 Companies, 7,188 Complaints, and the Broker Problem
Florida generates more NCCDB complaints than any other state by a wide margin. The data shows why: a corridor of zero-truck brokers in Broward and Palm Beach counties, dispatching carriers they barely vet, producing thousands of consumer complaints with zero enforcement consequences.
Georgia Moving Complaints: 1,234 Companies and a Chameleon Carrier Problem
Georgia has 1,234 registered movers, 53 with complaints, and 481 total filings. The state's complaint rate is driven by chameleon carriers in the Tucker area and broker-dispatched fraud from Florida.
Illinois Moving Complaints: 838 Companies and the Midwest's Highest Complaint Rate
Illinois has 838 registered movers, 84 with complaints, and 610 total filings. Small single-truck operators with extreme complaint counts dominate the state's NCCDB profile.
23,789 Movers. 51 States. The Complete National NCCDB Complaint Breakdown.
Trunk completed its scrape of every registered interstate mover in the FMCSA database. Here is the definitive national picture: complaint categories, regional distribution, worst companies, and shell company signals across all 50 states and DC.
New Jersey Moving Complaints: 1,260 Companies, 1,911 Complaints, and the Sherwood Lane Warehouse
New Jersey has fewer registered movers than Florida, California, or Texas, but a disproportionately high complaint rate. The data reveals a cluster of companies operating from a single warehouse in Fairfield, consumers tracking stolen goods via Find My iPhone, and at least one FBI referral.
New York Moving Complaints: 1,401 Companies in the Nation's Largest Metro
New York has the most registered movers of any state, but its complaint rate is lower than expected. The bigger problem: Florida-based brokers dispatching fraudulent carriers into the NY metro.
Texas Moving Complaints: 1,992 Companies in the Nation's Busiest Moving Market
Texas has nearly 2,000 registered interstate movers and leads the country in inbound and outbound move volume. Despite that, its complaint count is moderate. The data shows a state where the sheer size of the market dilutes complaint concentration.
The Rental Truck Signal: What Per-Truck Complaint Rates Reveal About Moving Fraud
Companies with 50+ NCCDB complaints per registered truck are almost certainly operating fleets of rental vehicles invisible to FMCSA's safety system. This is a screening signal consumers can use before hiring.
The 10 Most Complained-About Moving Companies in America
Trunk scraped FMCSA's NCCDB complaint records for 23,789 companies across all 51 jurisdictions. These 10 companies top the list, and their profiles reveal a pattern the raw numbers alone cannot show.
The Companies Suing a Consumer Protection Platform Have 907 Complaints Between Them
Safe Ship, Amerisafe, and Colonial Van Lines are suing USMPO for listing them as 'not verified.' Their combined NCCDB complaint count tells its own story.
We Scraped 8,500 Movers from FMCSA. Here's What the Complaint Data Shows.
FMCSA collects complaint data on every registered interstate mover but won't publish it in aggregate. So Trunk built the first national breakdown by category, company type, and region.
The Zenith Moving Group Playbook: FaceTime Walkthrough, Text Promises, Then Double the Price
A Florida broker quoted $3,999 after two FaceTime walkthroughs. The sales rep texted that the price would not change. Two days before the move, a 'quality assurance' call doubled it to $7,787. Full email chain included.
19 Victim Stories, One Pattern: What Moving Fraud Looks Like From the Consumer Side
We analyzed 19 documented victim accounts compiled by a consumer advocate. The fraud follows the same script every time.
$30,000 to Move 438 Miles: One Consumer's Three-Year Fight
A consumer paid $68 per mile to move a small home from Idaho to Washington State. She has spent the three years since documenting the fraud network that victimized her and hundreds of others.
Mover-Friendly Arbitration: When the Dispute Process Is Part of the Scam
Federal law requires movers to offer arbitration. It does not require the arbitration to be fair.
H.R. 880: The Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act, Explained
A pending bill that would restore FMCSA's enforcement authority, expand state enforcement powers, and begin addressing two decades of regulatory failure.
Volume Fraud: The Moving Scam With Zero Regulatory Controls
Weight-based shipments have federal verification rules. Volume-based charges have none. This is the source of most overcharge complaints.
One Company, Fourteen Names: How Moving Fraud Networks Hide in Plain Sight
Noble Moving and Storage operates under at least 14 aliases. It is not an outlier. Shell company networks are the defining pattern of household goods fraud.
When Moving Fraud Finally Becomes Criminal: The Cases, Hundreds of Victims
Federal criminal prosecution of moving fraud requires hundreds of victims and years of documented harm. Restitution is rarely paid. And convicted fraudsters get new FMCSA authority while still on probation.
USMPO Under Siege: When Watchdogs Become Targets
Three moving companies sued a nonprofit consumer protection organization to shut down its database. The case reveals why independent visibility in the moving industry is both essential and dangerous.
Why BBB Ratings Don't Protect You From Bad Movers
The BBB algorithm rewards responding to complaints, not resolving them. Here's how bad movers exploit it.
FMCSA Has a Safety System. It Has Nothing for Fraud.
The agency responsible for protecting consumers from moving fraud has never built the tools to do it.
How to Fight Back When a Mover Scams You
Most consumers don't know these options exist. Here's exactly how to use them.
One Lawyer vs. an Industry: How a Retired Attorney Is Forcing FMCSA to Act
A retired lawyer got scammed by a mover, then spent hundreds of hours studying moving law and the industry, and in the process uncovered a legal remedy the Department of Transportation neglected to implement.
The One-Truck Problem: When Your Mover Is a Broker in Disguise
Small carriers that rent trucks and subcontract moves are one of the most common sources of moving fraud.
How Scam Movers Silence Their Critics
When bad movers can't fix their reputation, they sue the people who document it.
The Moving Company ABC7 Investigated Had Already Set Up Its Replacement
B&B Transportation racked up 51 federal complaints before a 2018 TV expose. Its owner had quietly incorporated a new company at the same address five months earlier. That company went on to accumulate 97 more complaints and a federal court judgment.
One Call Center, Eight Fake Names, 300 Victims: Inside the Gold Standard Moving Scam
A Florida moving broker ran a single call center under 8 different company names to dodge bad reviews. The carrier it hired stored 450 pallets of stolen belongings in an Oregon warehouse. The FBI, DOT Inspector General, and Florida AG all got involved. Here's what happened.
Caught Dumping Furniture on Camera, Fined $100, Still Operating: Pro Movers Inc
ABC7 caught a Santa Ana moving company illegally dumping furniture in a residential alley. The fine was $100. Three years later, the company is still operating with an F rating, advertising interstate moves without federal authorization, and accumulating complaints about stolen items and review suppression.
The Moving Company That Dumped Furniture on Skid Row Runs 4 Entities From One Apartment
In July 2024, a VIP Pro Moving truck was filmed unloading furniture onto LA's Skid Row at midnight. The company is registered at a Marina Del Rey apartment with 1 truck on file. The same operator runs three other entities, including one that quietly relocated to Texas with a 52% driver out-of-service rate.
Same Owner, New Name, Clean Record: How Chameleon Carriers Game the System
We investigated an Atlanta moving company with a clean FMCSA record. Public data told a different story.