Trucking news and briefs for Monday, Feb. 10, 2025:
Trucking company owner charged in $4.6M overbilling scheme
A New Jersey-based trucking company owner has been charged in federal court for allegedly bilking over $4 million from a national home goods company in an overbilling scheme.
Jose Pena, 46, of Monroe Township, New Jersey, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to the criminal complaint, Pena owned and operated a trucking company that subcontracted with a national transportation and logistics company, referred to as just “Company-1” in the complaint, to provide delivery services in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area for Williams-Sonoma out of Williams-Sonoma’s distribution center in Cranbury, New Jersey.
From approximately June 2018 through September 2020, Pena conspired with others who worked at Williams-Sonoma and Company-1, among others, to overbill the victim companies for over $3.6 million in fabricated deliveries and services that Pena and his firm did not complete. In exchange for his co-conspirators’ participation in the scheme, Pena paid to them lavish kickbacks, including cash, checks, a sport utility vehicle, and a Rolex watch.
After an internal audit revealed the fraud and the victim companies no longer wished to contract with Pena, Pena hid his interest in another trucking firm that contracted directly with Williams-Sonoma in September 2021. Pena continued to work with a subset of his co-conspirators to overbill Williams-Sonoma for fabricated deliveries through June 2024, resulting in nearly $1 million in additional losses to Williams-Sonoma.
Two of Pena’s co-conspirators, Raymond DeLeon and Cintia Elaxcar, pleaded guilty last month for participating in this conspiracy in their capacities as former employees of Company-1.
DeLeon, 38, of Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Jan. 3 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. DeLeon worked as an operations general manager for Company-1 and received over $200,000 in kickback payments in exchange for his role in causing the fraudulent billing requests to be submitted to the victim companies.
Elaxcar, 40, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Jan. 15 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Elaxcar worked as a billing and dispatch manager for Company-1 and received over $435,000 in kickback payments in exchange for her role in causing the fraudulent billing requests to be submitted to the victim companies.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud -- which Pena is charged with and which DeLeon and Elaxcar have each pleaded guilty to -- carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. It also carries a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.
J.J. Keller adds MVR monitoring to fleet management offering
The sooner carriers are aware of their drivers’ citations, suspensions, violations or other negative driving events, the sooner they can take action to correct the behavior.
J.J. Keller has added an MVR monitoring feature to its Encompass Fleet Management System.J.J. Keller
“Instead of carriers waiting for an annual MVR pull to discover a driver’s high-risk driving behavior, they can now find out when it happens,” said Frances Crowley Yuronich, senior product manager of technology solutions at J. J. Keller. “This enables carriers to remove unsafe drivers from the road fast and address the behavior before a violation or accident occurs.”
The MVR monitoring feature now available in Encompass includes both on-demand and ongoing monitoring of drivers’ records for negative events, such as license suspensions, illegal maneuvers and speeding. When an event occurs, the system generates an updated MVR and notifies the carrier.
Driver training is also available in Encompass to provide immediate corrective action based on the event.
“More than 6,000 motor carriers trust Encompass for DOT fleet management,” Crowley added. “Whether they’re managing driver or vehicle regulatory compliance, Encompass has always provided carriers with a comprehensive view of their operation, delivering the data they need to respond quickly and efficiently to risks. This new feature also offers a great productivity boost to fleet professionals who are struggling with lack of time or resources.”
