Summary

On October 27, 2015, Tasheen "Ty" R. Pickett pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Atlanta, Georgia, to conspiracy to transport stolen property related to a scheme to wrongfully deprive customers of their household goods.

This investigation was based upon a referral to OIG from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).  Pickett owned and operated J and P Moving, Inc. (J&P), a company that purported to provide moving services for individuals seeking to ship their household goods (HHG) from one location to another.  Even though J&P did not have authority from FMCSA to transport HHG, they would acquire HHG moving jobs. They would travel to the location of the job, load the HHG into a moving truck under the pretense of providing moving services, but never return the HHGs to the rightful owner.  In some instances, when the owner of the HHG would contact J&P seeking the return of their possessions Pickett and other representatives of J&P would provide excuses for the failure to deliver. They would promise to deliver the HHG at a later date but despite making these promises, the HHG would never be delivered.

USDOT-OIG agents identified 34 victims of "hostage loads" taken by Pickett and successfully reunited 20 of those victims with the majority of their possessions.