A Navy Officer's Belongings Disappeared. The Moving Broker Says It's Not Their Problem.

Ke Wang is an active-duty United States Navy officer. In July 2025, he booked a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move from Gulfport, Mississippi to San Diego, California through Safe Ship Moving Services, paying approximately $4,400 upfront. Safe Ship is a household goods broker registered with FMCSA under DOT 3475743. It has 321 NCCDB complaints, more than any other moving company in the FMCSA database. It is also a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against the United States Moving Protection Organization (USMPO), claiming that being listed as 'not verified' damages its business.

As of this writing, more than a year after pickup, Ke Wang's household goods have not been delivered. No proof has been provided that they still exist.

July 3, 2025: Wang books a PCS move with Safe Ship Moving Services. Pays approximately $4,400 upfront.

July 25, 2025: First pickup attempt. The carrier sent by Safe Ship cannot access Wang's military base housing in Gulfport despite being informed the pickup location was a Navy installation requiring proper access credentials. No pickup occurs.

July 29, 2025: Safe Ship reschedules pickup. No carrier arrives. No communication or explanation from Safe Ship.

August 6, 2025: Wang contacts Safe Ship about the status. Safe Ship falsely states his belongings are 'already in storage.' No pickup had occurred.

August 14, 2025: After Wang corrects Safe Ship, the broker assigns the move to Ver Vanlines LLC (DOT 4390489, North Bergen, NJ). Ver picks up Wang's household goods. Wang pays an additional $2,500 cash at pickup.

September 15, 2025: Wang requests delivery. Ver Vanlines confirms and says delivery will occur within 7 to 14 days.

October 6, 2025: Wang contacts Ver for an update. Ver claims the goods are in Gulfport and delivery will happen in 7 to 10 business days.

October 21, 2025: Same false statement from Ver about location and timing.

October 24, 2025: After the Navy's legal office gets involved, Ver states delivery will occur October 27 to 28.

October 28, 2025: A truck arrives at Wang's San Diego home. Without his belongings. Ver claims the goods are 'in storage.'

November 5, 2025: Ver tells Wang their drivers are in California but his goods are in Ohio. This contradicts every prior statement about the goods' location.

November 10, 2025: FMCSA revokes Ver Vanlines' operating authority. Wang discovers this through his own research.

November 13 to 19, 2025: Ver Vanlines stops answering calls entirely.

December 12, 2025: Wang files a complaint against Safe Ship in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County, Florida (Case No. 502025CA012956), seeking damages exceeding $100,000 with punitive damages.

Ver Vanlines LLC received its FMCSA certificate of authority on May 23, 2025, with a service date signed by Jeffrey L. Secrist, Division Chief, Office of Registration.

Ver Vanlines LLC was not incorporated until June 10, 2025, seventeen days after FMCSA granted it authority to transport household goods in interstate commerce.

FMCSA licensed a company that did not legally exist. The misrepresentation of corporate status in Ver's application was available to FMCSA but was not caught. It was also available to Safe Ship, which claims to vet carriers with 'exacting qualification standards including at least one year of unblemished HHG history.' Ver had no history. It was weeks old.

Ver's authority was revoked on November 10, 2025. Its insurance was cancelled effective November 30, 2025. As of the date of the court filing, Ver was not authorized to operate in interstate commerce. Wang's belongings remain unaccounted for.

Safe Ship's position, as stated in court filings, is that it was 'just the broker.' It arranged transportation but did not handle the goods. Safe Ship contends it bears no responsibility for what the carrier did after pickup.

This defense is the same one deployed across the household goods broker industry. Brokers collect consumer payments, select and dispatch carriers, and present themselves as the moving company the consumer hired. When something goes wrong, they disclaim responsibility because they did not physically handle the goods.

The Wang case tests this defense at its extreme: a broker with 321 NCCDB complaints dispatched an active-duty military officer's belongings to a carrier that was incorporated after it was licensed, that provided false statements about the location of the goods for months, and whose authority was revoked while the goods were in its possession. The goods have not been seen since.

Safe Ship is represented in the Wang litigation by the Lomnitzer firm, the same attorneys prosecuting Safe Ship's lawsuit against USMPO for listing Safe Ship as 'not verified.'

Permanent Change of Station moves are uniquely vulnerable to broker fraud. Service members are required to relocate on military timelines. They often cannot choose when to move or delay a move if problems arise. They may be deploying, reporting to new duty stations, or managing family relocations across the country under tight deadlines.

When a broker fails to perform, a civilian consumer can delay their move, extend a lease, or find alternative arrangements. A service member on PCS orders often cannot. Wang's complaint notes that Safe Ship's misconduct 'caused severe disruption to Plaintiff's PCS transfer, housing, and family obligations.'

FMCSA and the Department of Defense both have roles in protecting military consumers from moving fraud, but neither agency has enforcement mechanisms designed for the specific vulnerability of PCS moves. FMCSA's complaint intake process does not prioritize military consumers. DOD's personal property shipping system has its own procurement process for government-funded moves, but privately arranged PCS moves like Wang's fall through the gap between agencies.

Trunk's NCCDB data shows that the brokers most likely to harm military consumers are the same ones harming everyone else: the highest-complaint brokers are Florida-based operations dispatching to untested or unreliable carriers.

For service members planning a PCS move, Trunk's PCS Move Guide (trunk.lorea.ai/pcs-move-guide) covers how to vet movers, what to document, and how to protect yourself from broker fraud.

Safe Ship Moving Services (DOT 3475743) has 321 NCCDB complaints: 51 in 2023, 100 in 2024, 90 in 2025, 80 in the first half of 2026. It is the single most-complained-about moving company in the FMCSA database nationally. It holds an F rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Safe Ship is also a plaintiff in Vellar Holdings v. USMPO (Case No. 25-cv-80042, S.D. Florida), suing a consumer protection nonprofit for listing it as 'not verified.' The combined NCCDB complaint count of the three USMPO plaintiffs (Safe Ship, Amerisafe, Colonial Van Lines) is 907.

Ver Vanlines LLC (DOT 4390489) had its authority granted May 23, 2025, and revoked November 10, 2025. In fewer than six months of operation, it acquired a Navy officer's household goods and lost them.

All companies in this case, and their connections, are queryable in Trunk's NCCDB Complaint Intelligence dashboard at trunk.lorea.ai/dashboard/nccdb.