Eight people have been charged with conspiring to impersonate shipping carriers in a multimillion-dollar theft scheme that ran throughout the Northeast from October 2025 to April 2026.
The eight defendants reportedly stole over $5 million worth of products from logistics sites in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New Jersey. They then allegedly transported the stolen products to New York City for sale on the black market.
They allegedly perpetrated six crimes, stealing $165,000 in lamb, $432,000 in cheese, $295,000 in beef, more than $266,000 in copper, and more than $3.3 million in cigarettes.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, and NYC Business Integrity Commission Commissioner Asim Rehman all announced the 21-page indictment, which was filed in the state Supreme Court for New York County.
“We allege these defendants operated a wide-ranging and brazen, multimillion-dollar interstate retail theft conspiracy that impacted businesses and consumers around the country,” said Bragg, district attorney. “We believe that many small businesses were harmed by this theft, some of which may not be able to recover from their financial losses.”
The eight defendants reportedly collected cargo information from reputable shipping carriers and brokers and impersonated them as part of the conspiracy. They allegedly collaborated with other criminal syndicates that used phishing scams to hack and obtain shipping data.
Officials said that when manufacturers ship big amounts of products, they hire shipping brokers who promote the work on an online portal. Shipping carriers will then submit quotes, and the winner will receive the final shipment specifics from the broker.
The defendants in this case reportedly obtained the winning bids via hackers who worked with them. They would then allegedly lease tractor trucks and add the name and registration number of the actual shipping company that was meant to make the pickup. They would then drive to the logistics center, collect the products, and arrange for shipping into and through Manhattan.
The charges in the indictment are only allegations, and the defendants are deemed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Prosecutors have identified the following occurrences in documents produced in court:
- In November 2025, Nodir Kobilov allegedly drove a truck impersonating the carrier Z Mile Inc to pick up frozen lamb from a logistics center in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. He then met Murodullo Khasanov, who escorted and supervised the transportation of the stolen goods through Manhattan into the Bronx. The lamb was intended to be delivered to Minnesota and Wyoming.
- In December 2025, Shavkatbek Mamadjanov allegedly drove a truck impersonating Altex Logistics Inc, to pick up cheese totaling 25,395 pounds in net weight, including parmesan, pecorino and Manchego, from a logistics center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The cheese was intended to be delivered to Georgia. In this particular instance, the broker was a victim of a hacker and unknowingly sent the bid information to the hackers, who shared it with Murodullo Khasanov. He then coordinated and supervised the theft with Shavkatbek Mamadjanov.
- That same month, Rakhmiddin Abdullaev allegedly drove a truck impersonating Masters Trucking to pick up 39,600 pounds of beef in Darby Township, Pennsylvania. The beef was intended for Aurora, Colorado, but was instead diverted and transported into New York City. Similarly, the broker had unknowingly sent the bid information to a member of the criminal syndicate conducting the hacking, who eventually sent it to Murodullo Khasanov. He then coordinated and supervised the theft with Rakhmiddin Abdullaev.
- On two separate occasions in March 2026, under the supervision of Murodullo Khasanov, Dilshod Nabiev, Nizom Ismoilov and two other individuals allegedly drove trucks impersonating Preston Deliveries, LLC to CJ Logistics America in Colonial Heights, Virginia to pick up over $3.3 million in cigarettes, which were eventually brought to the Bronx through Manhattan. The cigarettes were intended for Tennessee and Florida. The stolen cigarettes were later recovered pursuant to a search warrant executed in the Bronx.
Prosecutors said they have cause to think there are further incidents, and their investigation is ongoing.
Bragg stated that the combination of sophisticated online hacking and large-scale theft is “deeply concerning and will only grow more prevalent, and we are using every tool available to stay ahead of this emerging trend.”
According to recent Verisk CargoNet research, while the number of supply chain thefts decreased in the first quarter, the anticipated losses remained unchanged at approximately $131.6 million from the same period in 2025. CargoNet indicated reduced activity from domestic criminal organizations, notably in high-traffic areas such as Texas and the Southeast, as well as continued or increasing activity by organized crime groups in California and the New York City metropolitan area.
CargoNet predicts impersonation-based fraud and the exploitation of legitimate carrier identities to remain a major source of cargo theft activity in the coming quarters.
In February, a New York man was arrested and accused of allegedly stealing 33,750 pounds of frozen snow crabs worth $325,000 from a Worcester, Massachusetts, warehouse. Prior to the crime, a co-conspirator allegedly hacked into a trucking company’s email account.
In a different example reported in December 2025, a shipment of lobster flesh valued at $400,000 was being detained in Taunton, Massachusetts. A cold storage facility was allegedly hijacked by a person impersonating a truck driver for a reputable freight carrier. Prior to the alleged heist, authorities stated that a cargo of crabmeat was stolen from the same storage facility ten days prior.
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