Lakeville Motor Express Sued for Fraud, Wage Theft
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry has sued against Lakeville Motor Express, LME Inc. and Finish Line Express, charging the companies committed fraud and wage theft when Lakeville closed its doors without notice shortly before Thanksgiving.
Lakeville Motor owner Kevin Deming told the Teamsters that he shut down the business due to heavy financial losses and the inability to find drivers, laying off 95 union employees.
The state labor department alleges that Deming, Roger Wilsey, Shari Taylor Wilsey, Michael and Nancy Sanford, Travis and Jennifer Hoeschen, owners and executives of Lakeville and sister companies LME/FLE, fraudulently transferred Lakeville assets to LME/FLE, and seeks over $300,000 in stolen wages and penalties.
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Vincent Wren founded Lakeville Motor Express in 1921 as a family business. Wren’s son John took control of the business in 1979, but sold it in December 2009. Roger Wilsey, a former Lakeville Motor Express vice president, and his wife, Shari, restructured the business to separate the nonunion regional freight operations from the unionized business. The freight business now operates under the name LME Inc., and Lakeville Motor Express served as a local cartage agent under Deming.
“These executives robbed 95 hardworking, middle class families of wages they had earned. We are pleased to see that the state has taken the next step toward holding these companies accountable,” said Bill Wedebrand, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 120.
