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Texas man admits to hijacking interstate cargo

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A Texas man is facing up to a decade in prison for his role in a scheme to steal a load of electronics.

Twenty-two year old Houston resident Maksims Klopovs has entered a guilty plea to theft from an interstate cargo shipment, according to a January 7 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas.

The charge was issued after nearly $100,000 worth of computers and other electronics bound for Del Mar College in Corpus Christi were stolen on June 17, 2019.

Federal authorities detailed the cargo theft scheme:

After the shipment left the warehouse in Illinois, someone had changed the delivery instructions using an online system. Rather than deliver it directly to Del Mar College, the shipping company was asked to hold the load at their Corpus Christi warehouse for pickup.

Del Mar College did not request the change.

Klopovs arrived at the warehouse driving a rented U-Haul truck. He presented a fraudulent Texas driver’s license bearing his photo, but with the name Martin Smith. He also showed what was determined to be a fraudulent Del Mar College ID card with the title of Operations Manager also bearing his photograph and with the Smith name. He also had a Del Mar College business card in the name of Martin Smith.

Klopovs claimed the shipment and began to load the electronics into the rental truck. Authorities then took him into custody.

Klopovs is scheduled for sentencing on April 6, 2021. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

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