In September, 2014, the criminal investigations division of the DOT sentenced two people from the same company.
The first was Wayne Allen who is a former sales person for San Jose California based ASAP Relocations, Inc. Allen was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and fined a total of $4200 for his role in schemes to defraud ASAP customers. Wayne and other ASAP employees, including the company’s owner, gave customers very low initial quotes for moving services. Once the moves were underway, the motor carrier would extort additional fees from ASAP customers by over charging for packing supplies. The customer would then be informed that their furniture would be placed into storage unless they paid the much higher costs for packing supplies.
Wayne Allen was sentenced on September 4, 2014, in Superior Court, County of Santa Clara, California to perform 300 hours of community service and ordered to pay $4,200 in restitution for his participation in a scheme to defraud moving customers.
On September 18, 2014, Adalinda Reyna-Mendoza, a former customer service representative and dispatcher for ASAP, was sentenced to 6 months incarceration, 5 years probation, and ordered to pay restitution to victims totaling over $200,000 for her participation in the scheme.Reyna-Mendoza had previously pleaded guilty to the charges against her.
The investigation was conducted by Consumer Protection and Workers' Compensation Units of the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Franchise Tax Board, the Alameda and Monterey County District Attorneys' Offices, and the FBI. The investigation also has assistance from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
In an unrelated matter, Commercial Drivers License (CDL)holder and truck driver Arnold Williams was indicted on September 14, 2014 for making false statements on a driver employment application.
On March 29, 2013, Williams applied to MTR, Inc. as a truck driver. MTR, Inc. which is headquartered in Dublin California. MTR hired Williams based upon his application.
On April 6, 2013, Williams was driving a commercial motor vehicle in Georgia when he was stopped by a Georgia State Police officer and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol. In a subsequent investigation, it was found that in January 2013, Williams was charged by the North Charleston, South Carolina, Police Department with reckless homicide and possessing an open alcohol beverage container. Williams was arrested following the January crash. An investigation into Williams’ background revealed he had been charged in January 2013 incident, but had failed to list the accident on his application. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), 391.21(b)(7) Application for Employment, require drivers to list all previous accidents.As a result, Williams is under indictment for his failure to report the previous incident.