Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Aug. 1, 2025:
Former trucking company manager charged for embezzling $500K
A former operations manager at Tribe Transportation, Dustin Jarrard, was arraigned on federal charges after he allegedly embezzled more than half a million dollars from the company.
According to U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, from May 2018 through May 2024, Jarrard served as an operations manager for Gainesville, Georgia-based Tribe Transportation. As an operations manager, he had the authority to request expense reimbursements on truck drivers’ behalf. To submit a request, he would send the company’s accounting department the driver’s name, the reason for the expense, and the amount of the reimbursement.
Over the course of more than three years, Jarrard allegedly sent fraudulent reimbursement requests to Tribe Transportation. In certain cases, he allegedly requested reimbursement for drivers who were not actually employed by the company, which resulted in payments Jarrard personally redeemed for his own use.
In other cases, Jarrard allegedly enlisted Tribe Transportation drivers in his scheme and falsely submitted payment requests for expenses never incurred and layover bonuses that were not earned. After receiving funds that were not owed to them, the drivers then allegedly transferred some of the money to Jarrard for his personal use.
“Jarrard allegedly stole more than $500,000 that was intended to help truckers on the road,” Hertzberg said. “We will hold accountable those who abuse their positions of trust and embezzle funds for their personal use.”
Jarrard, 38, of Gainesville, Georgia, was arraigned July 29 after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 22 for wire fraud.
ECM theft ring shut down in Florida
Four members of a crime ring have been charged for stealing more than $400,000 worth of semi-truck parts. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the charges Tuesday.
According to a law enforcement investigation led by the Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff's Office's Organized Crime Task Force, the four individuals being charged committed dozens of burglaries of electronic control modules (ECMs) from Freightliner trucks throughout Florida and Texas.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, all four arrested are Cuban nationals who are believed to be in the U.S. without legal status. The suspects and their charges are:
Based on evidence collected during the investigation, law enforcement linked the defendants to ECM theft cases in Hillsborough, Duval, Lee, and Polk Counties in Florida, as well as additional cases in Travis and Williamson Counties in Texas. In total, the defendants stole $404,668 worth of ECMs, caused $372,000 in damage to trucks by prying open engine compartments and cutting wiring harnesses to remove the ECMs, and stole from 93 truck owners.
"This case is a strong example of what can be accomplished when local and state agencies work as one," said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. "The support from Attorney General James Uthmeier and our statewide prosecutors was not just helpful but essential. Without their partnership, the scope and success of this investigation simply would not have been possible. Together, we didn't just gather intelligence, we acted on it and delivered justice.”
The defendants are currently awaiting trial; however, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed detainers on three of the four defendants and will reexamine the fourth defendant's permanent resident status upon conviction.
All four defendants face up to 832 years in prison and deportation.
FMCSA extends comment period for propane haulers’ wintertime HOS exemption request
Those interested in filing comments on an exemption request from the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) that would allow propane haulers extra driving and on-duty time during winter months have an additional 15 days to do so.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in a July 28 Federal Register notice that it is extending the comment period on NPGA’s request, extending the comments deadline to Aug. 15.
NPGA’s requested exemption would allow propane haulers to drive up to 12 hours a day and be on duty up to 15 hours a day, without weekly limits. It would also replace the 34-hour restart with a 24-hour restart, with prior notice by NPGA to FMCSA.
Under the requested exemption, with prior notice to FMCSA by NPGA, any period of six consecutive days during the exemption “window” may end with the beginning of an off-duty period of 24 or more consecutive hours, as opposed to the current option of 34 or more consecutive hours off duty to reset the “weekly” HOS limits.
NPGA said these waivers would allow its members to respond to emergency crises.
FMCSA said it received a request from the New York State Department of Transportation to extend the comment period to Aug. 29, expressing concern that exemptions from safety and hazardous materials regulations have the potential to undermine safety and complicate the enforcement process, and the application requires extensive review, FMCSA noted.
FMCSA agreed to a 15-day comment period extension. Comments can be filed here through Aug. 15.
[Related: Propane haulers seek wintertime HOS relief]
