Eight individuals have been indicted in New York in connection with what prosecutors allege was a multi-state cargo theft operation. Prosecutors allege the scheme involved the unauthorized use of shipment information and the impersonation of legitimate trucking carriers to divert freight shipments valued at approximately $4.49 million, according to the indictment and a public announcement from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The underlying allegations have not been proven in court.
Indictment details alleged scheme
According to court filings and an announcement from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the defendants are accused of participating in a scheme that targeted shipments moving through logistics facilities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia between October 2025 and April 2026. Prosecutors allege the group stole approximately $4.49 million worth of products, including lamb, cheese, beef, copper and cigarettes, through six separate cargo theft incidents.
The defendants named in the indictment are Murodullo Khasanov, Nodir Kobilov, Shavkatbek Mamadjanov, Rakhmiddin Abdullaev, Aleksey Vorobyev, Nizom Ismoilov, Doston Mardoev and Dilshod Nabiev. Each is charged with one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree and varying counts of grand larceny. The identities of the eight defendants in this article are drawn from the publicly filed indictment and accompanying court filings.
The indictment identifies legitimate trucking carriers whose names and registration information prosecutors allege were used without authorization during the scheme. Those carriers are identified in the indictment as victims of the alleged conduct. This article does not suggest that any legitimate carrier, its employees or its customers participated in, authorized or bear responsibility for the conduct alleged in the indictment.
FreightWaves contacted counsel for Aleksey Vorobyev, Nodir Kobilov and Murodullo Khasanov on June 4, 2026, seeking comment regarding the allegations described in the indictment. Counsel were asked to respond by 8:00 a.m. ET on June 5, 2026. No response was received before publication.
FreightWaves was unable to independently identify counsel for Shavkatbek Mamadjanov, Rakhmiddin Abdullaev, Nizom Ismoilov, Doston Mardoev and Dilshod Nabiev despite reviewing court records, contacting the New York County Supreme Court Criminal Term Clerk’s Office and contacting the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. On June 5, 2026, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office indicated that counsel information for those defendants existed and would be provided. As of publication, that information had not yet been received. FreightWaves continues efforts to identify and contact counsel for those defendants and will update this article if responses are received.
The identities of the eight defendants named in this article are drawn exclusively from the publicly filed indictment and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announcement of June 3, 2026. FreightWaves has not independently verified these identities against booking records, court appearance records, or other sources outside the prosecutorial filing.
The central claims in this article are drawn from the publicly filed indictment, the accompanying Statement of Facts filed in New York County Supreme Court under case number IND-71638-26 and public statements issued by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. FreightWaves has not independently verified the underlying allegations contained in those filings.
All eight defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The charges described in this article are allegations made by prosecutors. FreightWaves has not independently verified the underlying criminal allegations contained in the indictment.
Prosecutors allege thefts relied on carrier impersonation
According to the indictment, manufacturers and shippers contracted freight brokers to arrange transportation of cargo through online load-matching platforms. The indictment identifies the legitimate carriers whose names and registration information were allegedly used as victims of the scheme, not participants. This article does not suggest that any legitimate carrier, its employees or its customers participated in or bear responsibility for the alleged conduct described in the indictment.
According to the Statement of Facts filed in the case, prosecutors allege members of the group obtained shipment information associated with legitimate motor carriers and used that information to impersonate those carriers during the pickup process. Prosecutors allege participants displayed carrier names, MC numbers and DOT numbers on tractor-trailers and presented themselves as legitimate transportation providers when arriving at pickup locations.
Court filings further allege shipment details, pickup information and carrier identities were distributed among participants through encrypted messaging applications, including WhatsApp and Telegram. Prosecutors allege stolen freight was then transported into New York City, transferred to secondary vehicles, stored and sold or otherwise disposed of, according to prosecutors.
According to the indictment, prosecutors allege the defendants arrived at logistics facilities, took possession of cargo and transported it to New York City. Prosecutors further allege the cargo was sold or otherwise disposed of. FreightWaves has not independently verified these allegations.
According to the indictment, prosecutors allege the following six cargo theft incidents occurred during the scheme. The dollar amounts listed represent figures alleged in the indictment. FreightWaves has not independently verified the value of any shipment or confirmed these figures through shippers, insurers or any source outside the prosecution.
- Approximately $165,000 in frozen lamb allegedly stolen in November 2025.
- Approximately $432,000 in cheese allegedly stolen in December 2025.
- Approximately $295,000 in frozen beef allegedly stolen in December 2025.
- Approximately $266,000 in copper allegedly stolen in February 2026.
- Approximately $709,000 in cigarettes allegedly stolen in March 2026.
- Approximately $2.6 million in cigarettes allegedly stolen in a second March 2026 incident.
Prosecutors allege the combined value of the shipments exceeded $4.49 million.
Context: Carrier impersonation schemes in freight industry reporting
FreightWaves is providing this background solely for industry context. This contextual description is not offered as evidence that the allegations in this indictment are true, and no inference about the guilt of any named defendant should be drawn from it.
Carrier impersonation and freight diversion are categories of commercial cargo loss that have been described in prior industry reporting by FreightWaves and other publications. Law enforcement agencies and industry groups have, in prior contexts unrelated to this case, used the term “cargo fraud” to describe similar categories of conduct. FreightWaves is not applying that characterization to the allegations in this indictment, and no inference about the guilt of any named defendant should be drawn from this contextual description.
The allegations against all eight defendants remain unproven and will be decided through the court process.
What FreightWaves independently verified
FreightWaves independently verified that a criminal case bearing the case number IND-71638-26 was filed in New York County Supreme Court through direct communication with the New York County Supreme Court Criminal Term Clerk’s Office. FreightWaves reviewed the publicly filed indictment and Statement of Facts associated with that case number and confirmed that the eight defendants named in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announcement of June 3, 2026, appear in those court documents.
FreightWaves contacted the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office media relations office on June 4, 2026, as the prosecuting party, to seek comment and confirm public details. This contact was not an independent verification step.
FreightWaves has not independently verified the underlying criminal allegations, the alleged value of any shipment, or the defendants’ alleged participation in the conduct described in the indictment.
FreightWaves reviewed the indictment, Statement of Facts and public materials associated with New York County Supreme Court case IND-71638-26.
FreightWaves has not independently verified the underlying allegations contained in the indictment, the alleged value of the stolen cargo, the defendants’ alleged participation in the scheme or the ultimate disposition of the shipments identified by prosecutors.
The identities of the eight defendants as listed in this article are drawn exclusively from the publicly filed indictment and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announcement of June 3, 2026. FreightWaves has not independently verified those identities through law enforcement booking records, court appearance records, or any source outside those documents. FreightWaves has not independently corroborated the identity of any defendant through court appearance records, defense counsel confirmation, booking records or other independent means. Readers should be aware that FreightWaves’ identification of these individuals relies entirely on prosecutorial filings.
Because FreightWaves was unable to identify counsel for five of the eight defendants, FreightWaves cannot confirm through an independent representative that the individuals named in the indictment are the persons who appeared in the proceedings under those names.
FreightWaves was unable to independently verify defendant identities through sources beyond official prosecutorial and court records. FreightWaves has not independently verified the identities of the legitimate carriers whose names and registration information prosecutors allege were used without authorization during the scheme and was unable to confirm those identities through direct outreach prior to publication.
FreightWaves has not independently verified the identities of the legitimate carriers whose names and registration information prosecutors allege were used during the scheme.
The central claims in this article are drawn from materials produced by or filed through the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, including its June 3, 2026, public announcement and the indictment and Statement of Facts filed in New York County Supreme Court under case number IND-71638-26. These materials originate from a single institutional source. FreightWaves has not obtained independent corroboration of the indictment’s underlying allegations from a law enforcement agency outside the prosecuting office, from any named defendant or their counsel, or from any shipper, insurer or freight broker identified in the court filings.
FreightWaves has not adopted the prosecution’s underlying factual allegations as independently verified fact.
FreightWaves contacted the New York County Supreme Court Criminal Term Clerk’s Office on June 4, 2026,
Source: FreightWaves
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
