Second Man Sentenced in Load-Board Fraud

A Los Angeles man has been sentenced to serve more than four years in federal prison and pay $2.7 million in restitution to 300 trucker and broker victims for his part in an Internet load-board scheme that included hacking into the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Web site.

Viacheslav Berkovich was sentenced Aug. 10, a month after his partner in the load-board fraud, Nicholas Lakes, also known as Dmitry Nadezhdin, received a nearly six-year federal sentence, according to court documents.

Lakes and Berkovich pleaded guilty in February to computer fraud and mail fraud charges. They used bogus corporate and individual identities to access FMCSA’s Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System Internet Web site and commercial load-boards to bid on trucking jobs from legitimate brokerages, and then “double brokered” the jobs to legitimate trucking companies.

By Eric Miller

Staff Reporter

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