Cargo theft6 min read
Los Angeles jury convicts two men in a $2 million scheme that bought trucking companies to steal cargo
A federal jury found Arshpreet Singh and Vikramjeet Singh guilty of conspiracy after they and others used purchased or hijacked carriers to pick up loads that never arrived.
On September 29, 2026, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted Arshpreet Singh, 28, of Sacramento, and Vikramjeet Singh, 31, of Fontana, of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate or foreign shipments. Arshpreet Singh was also convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; the jury acquitted Vikramjeet Singh on that count. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced the verdicts after a seven-day trial.
According to evidence presented in court and reported by CDLLife, from March 2024 through June 2025 the men and co-conspirators purchased or fraudulently used legitimate trucking companies to bid on authentic shipping contracts through brokers such as Uber Freight. Once awarded the jobs, they took possession of the cargo at warehouses and never delivered it to the intended destinations.
How the scheme worked
- In March 2024 Arshpreet Singh bought Texas-based Z&F Transportation LLC for about $22,000. A co-conspirator then used that company to pick up televisions in Fontana that were supposed to go to Florida but never arrived.
- In May 2024 co-conspirators bought Skyways Trucking LLC and used it to steal laptops, televisions, solar panels and other items.
- Stolen goods also included vacuums, LED lights, shoes and tires. Prosecutors estimated total losses at $2 million.
- Thefts hit warehouses in Fontana, Vernon, Santa Fe Springs, Perris, City of Industry, Long Beach, Compton, Commerce, Pico Rivera, Chino and Moreno Valley, California, plus Grand Prairie, Texas.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office described both men as Indian nationals. U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang scheduled sentencing for January 20, 2027. Arshpreet Singh faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison; Vikramjeet Singh faces a maximum of five years. Those are legal ceilings, not the sentences the judge will necessarily impose. The case remains unfinished until sentencing.
Investigators included the FBI’s Inland Violent Crime Suppression Task Force, IRS Criminal Investigation, and police and sheriff’s departments from Fontana, Fort Worth, San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties.
Sources
- CDLLife: Two found guilty after purchasing legitimate trucking companies to steal $2 million in cargo
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California (via CDLLife link and public announcements)
- FreightWaves: LA jury convicts 2 in $2M cargo theft ring using purchased trucking companies
The Ro-Mac Brief summarizes public reporting for a general reader. Figures can be revised by the agency that published them. This is not legal advice.
Keep reading
- Federal and state officers pull 78 truck drivers off Southeast highways in overnight Operation Saturday Night Fever
A multi-state blitz inspected 552 commercial trucks and sidelined drivers for credential, English-proficiency, and safety problems—here’s what “out of service” and a non-domiciled CDL mean in plain English.
- G7 nations will release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency stocks after U.S. pressure
The coordinated drawdown starts immediately over four months, with a big diesel push in the first 20 days, as the official U.S. on-highway average sits at $6.382.
- Six family trucking firms sue C.H. Robinson and TQL, alleging they steered loads to chameleon carriers
A new federal racketeering lawsuit claims two major freight brokers used unsafe, name-changing trucking outfits to undercut legitimate carriers on price.