Fraud Network Investigation
Three Florida Brokers.
One California Carrier.
750+ Complaints.
4
Connected entities
750+
BBB complaints
3
States involved
0
FMCSA enforcement actions
Consumers mapped this fraud network themselves, using BBB reviews, Google reviews, Facebook groups, AirTags, and recorded phone calls. FMCSA sees four separate companies. Consumers see one pipeline.
The Network
Every entity plays a specific role. The brokers sell the move. The carrier shows up. The consumer gets caught in between with no recourse.
Value Added Moving
Owner: Victor Gonzales | 127 BBB complaints
Primary sales operation. Named staff: Scott Fineman (sales), Samantha Lewis (retention), Suzy Anderson (dispatch). A dedicated consumer advocacy site exists at valueaddedmovingisascam.com.
Coastal Moving Services
Owner: Rafael Castro | 316 BBB complaints, 1,377 BBB reviews
Highest complaint volume in network. Registers as 'Moving Brokers' on BBB. Subcontracts to LoadRans, Medina Movers, Rapid Express Moving.
Safe Shield Moving Services
Owner unknown | 0 trucks, 0 drivers
Newest entry. MCS-150 filed September 2025. Same Boynton Beach corridor as other FL brokers. Consumer-confirmed to broker out to LoadRans.
LoadRans LLC
Owner: Mrs. Jamie Yoshikawa | Google 4.4/473 (suspected fake reviews)
Primary fulfillment arm. Vernon, CA is an industrial city with ~100 residents. Alternate names: Rapid Moving Company, Mrs. Yun Auto, Motoguip. Connected to Bete Corp LLC via shared MC numbers.
Additional connected entities
The Playbook
The same pattern repeats across every broker in this network. Consumers describe it independently, in their own words, without knowing about each other. The consistency is the evidence.
The Low Quote
Broker gives an attractive price. Consumer spends hours documenting inventory. Quote feels thorough, professional.
The Deposit
$1,400 to $3,000+ collected immediately. Often non-refundable or extremely difficult to recover.
The Truck Downgrade
24 hours before the move, dispatch calls saying a smaller truck is coming. "Coincidentally," this triggers a price increase.
The Handoff
A different company shows up on moving day. Workers may not know what company they represent. Unmarked U-Hauls are common.
The "Bulky Item" Surcharge
At pickup, the carrier demands additional thousands for items already on the inventory. Price doubles or triples. Consumer has no choice: deposit is gone, belongings are being loaded.
The Warehouse
Items disappear into a "warehouse" for weeks. One consumer tracked belongings with AirTags and discovered they were in a public storage unit under someone else's name.
The Cash Demand
Final payment demanded via cash, Zelle, or USPS money orders before unloading. No credit card. No verification that all belongings arrived.
The Damage
Items arrive damaged, missing, or both. Driver response: 'Contact the company, I'm just the driver.' Company stops returning calls.
How Consumers Connected the Dots
No single complaint reveals the network. But when you lay them side by side, the connections are undeniable. Every piece of evidence below comes from consumers who had no contact with each other.
Named all three entities in a single account
Booked through Value Added Moving. Move executed by LoadRans LLC. Also references Coastal Movers. Has recorded phone calls with all parties, plus police and the storage facility. Tracked belongings with AirTags. Discovered items in a public storage unit, not a company warehouse.
Quoted $2,200 by Value Added, LoadRans demanded $5,500
LoadRans demanded extra $1,500 for a 'bulky item' (massage chair). Pressured into posting a fake positive review in exchange for $100-200 off. Delivery 17 days late. TV, coffee table, storage cabinet damaged. Two lamps missing.
Value Added explicitly denied being a broker
When asked directly, Value Added said they were not a broker. LoadRans showed up and added $1,200 (50% over). Move took 20+ business days instead of 1-5. Filing complaints with state attorneys general in multiple states.
MoveWise LLC as broker, LoadRans as carrier
Booked March, pickup June. LoadRans didn't start packing until a day late. 21-day delivery window used as cover. Move cost TWICE AS MUCH as estimated. Sales Rep James Wallace made false delivery promises.
Quoted $2,799 by Value Added, charged $7,400
Different mover showed up on moving day. Lost $1,597 deposit with no refund.
Military family, price almost doubled to $20,000
Coastal Moving Services subcontracted to an unknown carrier. Price nearly doubled at pickup. Warning directed specifically at military families.
Safe Shield brokers out to LoadRans
Community intel confirming the third broker in the network feeds to the same carrier.
Coastal Movers + LoadRans named together
Independent corroboration from a different consumer connecting Coastal (Boca Raton) to LoadRans (Vernon, CA).
Why FMCSA Can't See This
What FMCSA sees
Four separate DOT numbers. Each one is a clean entity with its own authority, its own complaints. The brokers are licensed brokers. The carrier is a licensed carrier. No single entity triggers enforcement thresholds.
What consumers see
One pipeline. Florida brokers clustered in the same metro (Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach) all feeding to a single carrier in Vernon, CA. Identical playbook. Identical outcomes. The geographic separation between broker and carrier creates jurisdictional fragmentation that makes enforcement nearly impossible.
The FL attorney general handles broker complaints. The CA attorney general handles carrier complaints. Neither sees the full picture. Meanwhile, the combined complaint volume across this network exceeds 750 BBB complaints, potentially affecting thousands of consumers.
Why Florida to California?
This is not random. Florida has historically lighter regulation on moving brokers. The brokers in this network are sales operations. They don't own trucks. They don't employ movers. They take deposits and hand off to carriers.
Vernon, California (population ~100) is an industrial-zoned city adjacent to Los Angeles. It exists almost entirely as a warehouse and logistics hub. A carrier based there can dispatch trucks nationwide for interstate moves.
The distance between broker and carrier is a feature, not a bug. It creates jurisdictional fragmentation. When a consumer in Ohio books through a broker in Fort Lauderdale and their belongings are held hostage in a storage unit in Illinois by a carrier based in Vernon, California, which state's attorney general has jurisdiction? The answer, in practice, is: none of them act.
What You Can Do
View Full Profiles
Every entity in this network has a detailed profile on Trunk with reviews, red flags, complaint history, and consumer reports.
Sources and Methodology
This investigation uses only consumer-sourced and publicly available information. No private databases or unauthorized access was used.
BBB reviews and complaints
Value Added (127), Coastal (316)
Google reviews
Filtered to lowest rating
Facebook Stop Moving Scams group
726 members, community reports
Trunk consumer reports
trunk.lorea.ai/report-mover
FMCSA SAFER database
DOT records, authority status
Consumer recorded phone calls
Jennifer D. (all 3 entities + police)
AirTag tracking data
Belongings traced to public storage
Consumer advocacy sites
valueaddedmovingisascam.com
FMCSA sees four separate companies.
Consumers see one pipeline.
This network was mapped by consumers, not regulators. Every connection was found in BBB reviews, Google reviews, Facebook groups, and recorded phone calls.
Search flagged movers near youThis document contains only publicly available information and consumer-submitted reports. No private databases or unauthorized access was used.