Three Sentenced in Broker Fraud Scheme

Three California men have been sentenced to jail and ordered to pay restitution for a fraud scheme that involved double brokering of trucking loads.

Rubik Avetyan and his sons Alfred and Allen Avetyan, through their company State Transport, obtained loads from brokers and then brokered the loads again to carriers, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General said earlier this month.

The Avetyans received payment from the brokers but did not pay the carriers, OIG said in a statement after their March 4 sentencing. They used a post office box in Pennsylvania and telephone forwarding to conceal their identities.

OIG’s investigation found about 165 victims of the Avetyans’ scheme. The sentence was handed down by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Alfred and Allen Avetyan were each sentenced to 60 months in jail, while Rubik Avetyan was sentenced to 50 months. They must jointly pay about $1.1 million in restitution.