Investigations

On March 4, 2011, Rubik Avetyan and his two sons, Alfred and Allen Avetyan, were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, for their role in a consumer fraud scheme involving illicit double brokering of motor carrier loads.  Alfred and Allen Avetyan were sentenced to 60 months in jail, Rubik Avetyan was sentenced to 50 months in jail and each defendant was ordered to pay joint and severally $1,118,723 in restitution.

The Avetyans participated in a "double brokering" scheme in which they provided false information to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to illicitly acquire a DOT motor carrier registration number for their company, State Transport, Inc.  The Avetyans obtained loads under the name of State Transport from unsuspecting brokers, and then using a different company name, brokered the loads to other carriers without the intent of paying those motor carriers that actually delivered the loads.  The Avetyans received payments from the original brokers but did not pay the carriers.  State Transport used a post office mail box drop and a telephone service to forward telephone calls and facsimile transmissions from Pennsylvania to California to conceal their identity and location.

In June 2009, FMCSA revoked State Transport's New Entrant registration and ordered it to cease interstate operations.  The investigation identified approximately 165 victims as a result of the consumer fraud scheme.  

The investigation was conducted jointly with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, with assistance from FMCSA.